Two moms. Five daughters. Opposite ends of the globe.




Two moms. Five daughters. A friendship that spans opposite ends of the globe.



We have been best friends for ages with a shared love for good food. A desire of good health for ourselves and our families have lead us to exploring the paleo lifestyle together. Enjoy our adventure!



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds


What to do with the yummy "Pumpkin brains!!!" as we were calling them while we carved the pumpkins with the kids... Well, you can't waste them.  I had enough seeds to try 3 different flavors... its easy enough to do... the one thing I read about after that I didn't do was to soak them in salt water overnight.  Apparently it makes them a lot less tough, and I will definitely add that step next time.  Depending how often you want to check on the seeds, a variety of oven temps will work.  I used 325F and checked about every 5 mins. for a total of about 20-25 mins.  There was one recipe that called for balsamic vinegar that sounded good....maybe we need another pumpkin?

S&P:

2 teaspoons melted coconut oil OR olive oil OR clarified butter
Teaspoon coarse ground salt, about as much pepper...
-mix with 1 1/2 cups cleaned pumpkin seeds and roast until lightly brown and crunchy.  Stir every 5-10 mins.

Warm Spice:

2 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of cloves
salt to taste
-mix with 1 1/2 cups cleaned pumpkin seeds and roast until lightly brown and crunchy.  Stir every 5-10 mins.

Hot Spice:

2 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
mix with 1 1/2 cups cleaned pumpkin seeds and roast until lightly brown and crunchy.  Stir every 5-10 mins.

I couldn't pick a favorite!

Pumpkin Joe


I wasn't sure what to call this... but it was just so scrumptious!  It almost ends up the consistency of mashed potatoes... I had it on lettuce, by itself, and here with a little avocado on top.

Pumpkin Joe:

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 spoon chopped garlic from a jar...

brown all the above in a pan with your go-to oil...

add:

1 small can tomato paste
1 small can chopped green chili
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
S&P if desired
1 1/2 cups of water.  (Yes, that much water!  Or beef broth, or more or less to your liking... but even with 1 1/2 cups its pretty thick.)

Simmer stirring pretty much constantly for 10 mins or so, adding water as needed to get the consistency you want.  That's it!  Enjoy.