The rain has arrived and any plans of continuing the new
garden today has been put on the burner. Yesterday I moved the piles of
composting foliage that had come from the clean up around the outdoor bath and
it is looking much nicer. I have finally sprayed that nasty climber before it
smothers all the native flora nearby so here’s hoping it knocks it back
somewhat. While I prefer using natural or organic methods where I can, I also
think there is a place for an ass kicking weed killer in certain situations and
this is one of them!
So this morning after giving everyone breakfast I looked at
the two Queensland Blue pumpkins I grew and brought from the old house. They
have stored extremely well and are as sturdy as the day I picked them so I will
absolutely grow these again. I decided to give the girls a treat seeing as they
aren’t keen to leave the run today, I cut around the top of the pumpkin,
scooped out most of the seeds and then went and gave them the pumpkin “bowl” to
have a nibble on. They seem to be enjoying it so I won’t be worried about growing
too many pumpkins this year.
I spread the seeds across a baking sheet lined
with baking paper (the baking paper helps if you don’t want to use oils) and
then I sprinkled them with a cayenne/salt mixture. Some people say to wash the
seeds first, dry them, soak or boil them and I guess everyone has their own
preference but to be honest, I just took all the pulp and stringy bits off and
laid them single layer on the sheet and baked them. My gas oven was on 150oc
and it took about 25 mins? You can put them on a higher heat for shorter time
but I prefer a lower, longer time to ensure I don’t burn them. The key is to
keep an eye on them and shuffle them around so they roast evenly, temperature and time will depend on your oven. They shouldn’t
be dark brown, mine have a little more colour because of the cayenne and type of seed may make a difference but browning
them is burning them and the inside actually cooks faster than the outer shell.
This was my first attempt at making these and I had to grab my camera and take
a pic before I got stuck into them because they truly are delicious.
