Pumpkin Seeds

How would a website called "pumpkin patches and more" know which flavors of roasted pumpkin seeds are "the most popular, in order"? Did they poll their family members? It sounds suspiciously like a science fair project one of their kids did in second grade.

In case you're wondering, their results are: 1. savory, 2. lemony, 3. halloweeny (yes, you read that right, and this further legitimizes my theory about the science fair project...it is a blend of cinnamon, ginger, salt, and allspice), 4. spicy, and 5. natural.

By the way, "pumpkin patches and more" is a page of a website I've written about in the past, pickyourown.org, and I love their website. Besides finding places to pick organic blueberries in the summer, I've also found instructions on freezing and otherwise preserving various vegetables from my garden. To tell the truth, that's mostly been okra since that is the one crop I've successfully grown to excess.

(Note to self, four okra plants is at least two plants too many!)

Roasted pumpkin seeds are fairly easy to make (scooping out the pumpkin guts is by far the hardest part), they are full of anti-oxidants, protein, and fiber, and I like the crunchiness. It's gotta be better than snacking on chocolate and peanut-butter chips from half-empty bags in the pantry.

Curse the holiday baking season! I can't escape the chocolate chips, extra cookie dough, and pumpkin bread that will inevitably be in the kitchen for the next two months!

That's a lie. I could just not buy the stuff and refuse to bake, but how much fun would that be?

I'm curious. What's the one holiday baked good that you can't live without?

I'll share one of mine tomorrow.