Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin carving means pumpkin seeds available for roasting. We carved our pumpkins last night and we roasted our seeds to ways. We did a simple salt version and then we did a sweet sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and extra cinnamon version. My husband loved the salted ones and my son and I really got into the sweet version. Try some, they're addictive.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Wash and dry seeds from one large pumpkin. In a medium bowl mix seeds with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Toss with 1 tablespoon salt for savory version. Alternately, toss with 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, and a dash or two of extra cinnamon.

Roast on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15-25 minutes at 350 degrees. We like our seeds crunchy so we opted for a longer bake at 25 minutes. If you like them more tender lessen the bake time to 15 minutes or so.

Tasty Pork and a New Grain

A few weeks ago I received a package in the mail containing a sample of a local companies' all purpose sauce to try in my own home. I gave it a whirl in some sloppy joes I made and liked it, but I didn't think that I could review it very accurately because the sauce was intermingled with too many other flavors. So, I decided to try using the sauce as the main flavor agent.

Last night I used it on a pork tenderloin with a little salt and pepper and I got a better sense of the sauce. It was the perfect compliment to the pork. It was not overly sweet like many barbecue sauces out there, but it added loads of flavor due to the vinegar and molasses it contains. We really enjoyed the pork and the fact that it only took minutes to prep, which is always a plus with a baby and toddler demanding my attention. I simply poured on about 1/3 cup of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce and popped the pork into the oven until cooked through.

I served it with a new-to-us grain called Farro. I wasn't quite sure what to do with this grain so I simply boiled it in salted water until tender. Then I drained it and added a bit of olive oil and parsley. I was really happy with how tasty this side dish was for the limited amount of effort required. It turned out similar to a rice but much healthier since it is a whole grain rather than just a starch like rice. It says it can be added to stews and soups like minestrone, so I'll have to give that a try as well.