On Tuesday of this past week my boyfriend and I headed out for what I would call “the perfect fall day.” Not only was the weather great with 70 degree temperatures in October (minus it being a bit too windy, for my liking), but we had several fun fall-themed activities planned.
We started the day by heading to the pumpkin patch where we selected the “perfect” pumpkins for carving, and then attempted the 10-acre corn maze. We had originally planned on doing the moonlight maze with flashlights, but it got rained out on the only available Saturday that we could go. So instead, we settled for an afternoon corn maze. I am actually quite glad that it worked out this way, because I imagine I would have gotten way too frustrated in the dark. We started out by “winging it,” which we quickly realized was not the best idea. Once we decided to actually follow the map we were good to go!
It took us about 25- 30 minutes to make it to the half-way point….
but once we got the hang of it, we were finished and out of the maze in a grand total of 45 minutes. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself!
After we left the pumpkin patch we headed home to carve pumpkins and roast pumpkin seeds.
Here is my pumpkin before (isn’t he cute?!?)….
and after…. As you can tell, mine (on the left) took minimal time and effort, likely because I tend to not be very patient when it comes to these things. I basically winged it and I think he turned out pretty cute! My boyfriend was a bit more adventurous and carved a picture of a labrador’s head into his pumpkin. Carving his pumpkin took a great deal more time, so I kept busy by roasting our pumpkin seeds!
Roasted Zesty Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients
about 2 cups of pumpkin seeds (cleaned)
1 TB plus 1 tsp fine sea salt
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp mild chili powder
EVOO cooking spray
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Clean your pumpkin seeds of all of the pumpkin goo (? 😉 ).
2. Boil pumpkin seeds (about 2 cups) with 1 tablespoon of fine sea salt. Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer for approximately 10 minutes.
3. Drain the water and dry the pumpkin seeds between paper towels.
4. Once mostly dry, toss the pumpkin seeds with EVOO, 1 tsp fine sea salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and mild chili powder.
5. Spread the pumpkin seeds onto a foil-lined baking sheet that has been lightly sprayed with EVOO cooking spray.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
7. Using tongs or a spatula, toss the seeds a bit to make sure that they are not sticking. Return the seeds to the oven and bake an additional 4-5 minutes.
8. Eat your deliciously addicting snack.
A bit spicy, salty, and crunchy = pure yumminess!
