Who knew writing a book would actually take a bit of work! I've been meaning to post something over the last few weeks, but every spare minute has been focused on the writing and taking pictures. But more importantly I'm here and I have a recipe!
This is Sofie's very first Halloween, as they don't celebrate the night as much in Sweden. She was working late last year and was less than impressed when I tried to introduce her to the fun of the event by jumping out of the wardrobe with a mask on! With the big night landing on a friday this year, we're getting into the spirit of things and have been busy carving pumpkins. Sofie has named our two "The Dark Knight" and "Darth Wader" (I think she meant "Darth Vader", must be the Swedish pronounciation!).
Hope you like our's, we'd love to see your pumpkins, so if you have pictures post a link in the comments section!
I had planned to post this recipe since the start of the month, so I'm glad I'm finally getting around to it. Just in the nick of time too! It's Halloween this Friday, so if you haven't got a pumpkin just yet, here's a great little snack you can put together with the reminants of the gutted vegetable.
Nacha's Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
My parents are in the fruit and vegetable business, this meant we always had two massive pumkins every Halloween, when my brother and I were growing up. Carving pumpkins became an annual tradition and everyone had a role. My brother and I would draw the faces, my mom would gut the pumpkins, and my dad would carve them. There was always huge arguements over choosing the right pumpkin and even more competition when it came to drawing the best and most scary face!
I picked this recipe up from our first au-pair from France, Nacha, who taught us never to throw away any of the precious seeds. They are so tasty toasted with butter and sea salt. Here's the simple recipe.
The seeds of 2 large pumpkins.
4 tablespoons of melted butter.
A generous pinch of coarse sea salt.
A generous pinch of ground black pepper.
Cut off the top of the pumpkins. Using your hands, separate the seeds from the gooey insides and transfer to a colander.
Rinse the slippy seeds under cold water and pick out any remaining stringy orange flesh. Transfer to a few sheets of kitchen paper or a dry tea towel and pat dry.
Tip the seeds into a large roasting dish and spoon over the melted butter. Toss the seeds so they are all coated in the butter and season with sea salt and black pepper.
Toast in the oven at 200oC/390oF/Gas 6, for 20 minutes or until nice and golden.
