What you will need:
~A pumpkin~2 tablespoons of canola/olive oil
~2 teaspoons of sea salt
~1 clove of garlic
~1 Tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon of butter
My dad helped me cut the top off the pumpkin. My mom was nervous about me doing it by myself, so she had my dad help me. When I went outside to grab my pumpkin to take it out to the back yard, I noticed some critters perched on my pumpkin. At first, I saw spider, I didn't take pictures of this creepy crawly because I ended up accidentally killing it... oops. There was another beetle type bug on the bottom of my pumpkin... I didn't kill it. I brushed it off my pumpkin. It was a big ol' boy.
He crawled away, I checked the pumpkin for more critters, there were no more critters, so I picked it up and brought it into the back yard to de-seed.
I took the top off the pumpkin, and I could already see the seeds. There were lots of them! I dug right in, and forgot to take a picture of the pumpkin before I de-seeded it. Oh well. I saved all of the pumpkin innards and put the top back on because I am researching right now the benefits to the skin that pumpkin brings. I am going to make a facial mask or something.
I took most of the seeds out, and I decided I should probably take a picture... for the process of course.
After I got all the seeds out, I took them inside and rinsed them off. I took all the excess pumpkin strings off the seeds, rinsed them off in a strainer, I also preheated my oven at 375 degrees.
I got out a pan and drizzled canola oil on the pan. I dumped the seeds on the pan and I spread them all around in the oil. You don't have to do this process, it just makes the seeds a little crispier when you bake them.
After I rubbed the seeds in the oil, I poured the seeds in a bowl, and rinsed them off. I didn't rinse off all the oil, just enough so they aren't so slimy and not dripping with oil. I also washed the pan. After that, get out a tablespoon of butter. . Place the butter on the pan, and spread it around.
I then dried off the seeds in a towel, and then put them on the buttered pan. I again used my hands to spread the seeds around in the butter.
Now for the garlic!
I peeled the skin off one clove, and used a garlic press to press it.
I pressed it over the seeds, and spread it around with the spoon. I wanted the garlic to be evened out through out the seeds. I even scraped out what was left behind in the garlic press to add more flavor.
After I mixed the garlic in with the seeds, I got out the sea salt and roughly sprinkled the seeds with the sea salt. It was probably about 2 teaspoons of sea salt that I sprinkled. I mixed the seeds around again, I wanted everything even!
I put them in the oven for about 17 minutes, so bake your seeds for 15 to 20 minutes.
The whole house smelled of garlic! It was pleasant though. I love the smell of garlic. It reminds me of Italian foods.
I let the garlic brown and get crunchy, because that's when it is strong smelling and fun to eat. Like a seasoning for the seeds. The seeds were delicious!
Yum yum yum!!!
