Pumpkin Picking and Decorating

I'm not joking when I say that this past weekend was all about pumpkins for our family.  After the NYBG giant pumpkin carving we picked, carved, and decorated pumpkins and then roasted pumpkin seeds!

Pumpkin Picking
We spent a fun, sunny afternoon with our church small group at Alstede Farms picking pumpkins and cute little gourds.  The farm was a little crazy and crowded and I expected a better selection of pumpkins, but perhaps we were just late in the pumpkin picking season.  Nonetheless, we did get some pumpkins and the kids were happy.

i'll take this one!

look at his knobby gourd

Pumpkin Carving
When L got home from preschool the next day, he eagerly and repeatedly asked if we could carve our pumpkin.  So after some googling of "how to carve a pumpkin" this is what we proceeded to do.

1. Cut a hole around the stem and put the kids to work scooping out the seeds and strings
2. Taped a stencil (we used a cute, non-scary cat) to the pumpkin and used a pointed tool to poke an outline around the shapes.  There are free stencils available online (no need to buy one!).
3. Used a paring knife to cut out the shapes

I'm no Ray Villafane, but I was pretty proud of the first pumpkin I ever carved!  Now, I need to research safe pumpkin lighting methods.

Pumpkin Decorating
With P's little pumpkin, the kids happily and messily decorated it with glitter glue and Crayola TaDoodles Paint (perfect for little hands!).  Lil' P always wants to do what her big bro L is doing and I was glad this was something they could do together.

Pumpkin Seed Roasting
Roasting pumpkin seeds (aka pepitas) is another thing that I didn't grow up doing, so after a little online search of "how to roast pumpkin seeds," this is what I did referencing instructions found here.  I chose this method because it was different from all the other, albeit simpler methods I saw (those requiring simply washing and roasting the seeds for a short time).  I thought the soaking and microwaving were interesting steps and wanted to try it.  And it claimed to produce a crunchy seed rather than a chewy one, which also sounded more appetizing.

Instructions:
1. Separate seeds from the pulp and string and rinse
2. Soak in salted water for one hour
3. Drain and pat dry
4. Microwave for 2 minutes
5. Toss with olive oil and coarse salt
6. Roast for 45 minutes in a 275F preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes.

The results were a flavorful, crunchy seed.  L liked them quite a bit, but P wouldn't try them.

Upon further reading on pumpkin seeds, I learned that they are one of the most nutritious seeds you can eat with the benefits of anti-inflammatory properties, lowering cholesterol, promoting prostate health and they're rich in minerals and protein (more information here).  However, I also read that it is better to roast the seeds for a shorter time period to preserve their healthy oils.  So next time, I will opt for the "simpler" method which in this case is also the healthier method.