Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

• 1 medium sized pumpkin
•  Salt
•  Olive Oil
• Spices*

Cut the pumpkin in half if you want to make pumpkin puree, or if you want to make a jack-o-lantern cut around the stem end. Scoop out the seeds and pulp. Place the seeds and pulp into a colander and run under water to rinse and separate the seeds. Measure the pumpkin seeds. Place the seeds in a medium saucepan and add 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to the pan for every half cup of pumpkin seeds.  Add more salt depending on preferred taste.

Bring the salted water and pumpkin seeds to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain well.  Transfer to a paper-lined tray and pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Transfer seeds to a medium bowl, toss with olive oil, spread out in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Check and stir every 10 minutes or so while baking on the top oven rack until the seeds begin to brown. It will take up to an hour depending on the size of the seeds. (Small seeds may toast in around 10 minutes; large seeds may take up to 20 minutes.)

Watch carefully so the seeds do not get over done. When lightly browned, remove from the oven and let cool on a rack before eating. Either crack to remove the inner seed or eat whole.

*For spicy pumpkin seeds, mix ½ teaspoon each garlic, cumin, coriander, and cardamom with seeds before roasting. For sweet pumpkin seeds, mix 1 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, cloves, and ginger and 1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar with seeds and oil before roasting.