What Shall We Make Today?

Food 3 Minutes

Pumpkin Seeds

If you’re planning on carving a pumpkin this year, or you want to cook and puree a pumpkin for pies or bread, save the seeds! According to WebMD, pumpkin seeds are a rich source of protein, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals that reduce risk factors of chronic diseases, including cancer.   

Any pumpkin you can get your hands on will do the trick. Pie Pumpkins, also called Sugar Pumpkins, will have more flesh if you’re planning to eat the pumpkin too. Some say they have crisper seeds than carving pumpkins, but both can be used.

Harvesting the seeds may be the only complicated part of the whole process, and it’s not that bad (promise!).

What You’ll Need

a sharp knife

an ice cream scoop (a large, sturdy spoon will work too)

a colander or strainer

a towel

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: If you’ll be carving your pumpkin for Halloween, cut a hole about 6 inches in diameter in the bottom of your pumpkin. Use the ice cream scoop or your hands to scrape out the pumpkin guts. Try to separate the flesh from the seeds as much as possible before collecting the seeds in your strainer. It’s a messy job, but it’s worth it.

Step 2: If you’re planning to roast your pumpkin, simply cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds from the flesh with a sturdy serving spoon or ice cream scoop.

Step 3: Thoroughly rinse your seeds under cold running water. You can even set your colander in a bowl of water and most of the seeds will float to the top. Either way, you’ll need to get your hands in there to further separate rest of the pumpkin bits. Spread the clean seeds on a towel and pat dry. At this point you can do a quick boil in salt water before roasting for extra crispiness, but there isn’t always time for that so this recipe takes the seeds straight to the oven.

How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds requires only three ingredients and 15 minutes of prep time (and just over 30 minutes total time!). Now that you know how to clean and prepare the seeds, let’s break down the rest of the recipe.

What You’ll Need

15x10x1-inch baking pan

Wooden spoon

Ingredients

1 cup pumpkin seeds from fresh pumpkin

2 teaspoons melted butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Heat oven to 350°F. Clean and prepare seeds (as instructed above), then spread seeds in an ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Toss with melted butter until coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 2: Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown and crisp, stirring once during baking.

Step 3: Cool in baking pan 10 minutes or until completely cooled before serving.

How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds in the Microwave

If you’re really in a rush, you can “roast” your pumpkin seeds in the microwave. Place them in a single layer in a glass pie plate. Microwave them for about 2 minutes and then stir. Microwave again for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring after each minute, until the seeds are dry and crunchy.

How to Season Pumpkin Seeds

A simple sprinkle of salt and drizzle of olive oil or melted butter always do the trick, but there are so many seasonings that bring out the best in pumpkin seeds. You can keep it basic, go sweet or even spicy.

For each cup of raw seeds, evenly coat with…

Italian

2 tablespoons melted butter + 1/4 cup grated Parmesan + 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Sweet

2 tablespoons melted butter + 1 tablespoon brown sugar + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Savory

2 tablespoons melted butter + 1 teaspoon seasoned salt + 1 teaspoon white vinegar (Note: Add the vinegar after roasting.)

Spicy

2 tablespoons olive oil + 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning + 1/2 teaspoon fresh lime zest (Note: Add the zest after roasting.)

Serving:

You can eat pumpkin seeds on salads, soups, in desserts or (most likely) straight from the roasting pan into your mouth. And you can eat the pumpkin seed shells too!  Once cooked, the outer hull is just as edible as the seed inside — and is a good source of zinc.

NOTE:  There are pumpkin seeds and there are pepitas.

Pepita is the Spanish word for pumpkin seed, and you’ll see pepitas on just about every chef-driven restaurant menu these days. It’s a pretty trendy ingredient, to say the least. However, if you’ve ever had one of those delicious little pepitas, you’ll know that they are very different from what comes out of your jack-o-lantern. They’re tender, greenish and don’t have hard white shells like regular pumpkin seeds do. And you can’t just remove the shells off of a pumpkin seed and get a pepita — they actually come from certain types of pumpkins (thin-skinned Styrian or oilseed pumpkins) that have shell-free seeds.

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Published by pat frederick

Published

88 thoughts on “What Shall We Make Today?”

          1. Good for you! I’m going to start taking some breaks myself. Went to the library yesterday and picked up a couple of books – Julie Garwood has a new one out, as well as Faye Kellerman – for the first time in almost a year! It was so long that when the library switched to a new computer system, my name was completely dropped. LOL

            Liked by 2 people

  2. Good Morning Pat,

    Love your “What Shall …” Opens …

    Granddaughter enjoys the seeds roasted … will have to pass along…

    Hope your day is a fun one!

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Entire Article @ JustTheNews:

    “Office of Congressional Ethics head Omar Ashmawy faces DUI charges after crashing into a private residence in Pennsylvania last month, court documents reveal. Specifically, Ashmawy faces charges of “driving under the influence, careless driving, driving on roadways laned for traffic and restrictions on alcohol in a vehicle,” according to court filings Yahoo News obtained.

    Authorities arrested him on Sept. 10 after he crashed into both the car and home of Hector Fernandez, in Matamoros, Penn. Fernandez called the police, who quickly arrived on the scene. Ashmawy refused to submit to a sobriety test and the officers detained him on suspicion of driving under the influence.

    He has headed the OCE for 12 years. A statement from the OCE indicated it was reviewing Ashmawy’s case. “We take this matter very seriously and the Board will be reviewing the circumstances surrounding it,” the statement read, per the outlet. “In the meantime, Mr. Ashmawy has been placed on leave to deal with the issues that contributed to this incident. Helen Eisner will serve as the Acting Staff Director during his absence.”

    The outlet further highlighted Ashmawy’s past run-ins with law enforcement, including his alleged participation in a 2015 bar fight and a prior investigation into his alleged use of his position to influence local law enforcement. He never faced charges and settled a civil lawsuit in relation to the bar fight out of court.”

    Liked by 1 person

  4. EXCERPT: “The Boeing Company is set to outsource to India hundreds of coveted white-collar American jobs, beginning this year, while making billions in profits from taxpayer-funded contracts with the Defense Department.

    Late last month, Boeing executives announced that 150 accounting and finance jobs in the United States would be sent to India via a contract with Tata Consulting Services. Tata is responsible for an outsourcing-offshoring business model that widens profit margins for multinational corporations by sending American jobs to lower-wage countries like India.

    Hundreds more American jobs at Boeing are expected to be outsourced to India next year. The move comes as Boeing has laid off tens of thousands of employees and sent most of its high-paying American tech jobs to India. For years, as The Atlantic noted in 2019, Boeing has been importing $9-an-hour foreign H-1B visa workers to take coveted software engineering jobs at its American plants. The goal was to cut costs for the company.

    While outsourcing American jobs, Boeing remains of the most well-connected corporations among Democrats and Republicans in Washington, DC.

    Most recently, Boeing scored a $5 billion contract with the federal government’s Missile Defense Agency. In 2019, the Defense Department remained Boeing’s largest customer as nearly $30 billion of its profits came from taxpayer-funded federal contracts — representing more than 30 percent of the company’s annual profits.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/10/14/boeing-outsourcing-more-u-s-jobs-to-india-while-making-billions-from-taxpayer-funded-defense-contracts/

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Beats me! Part of the younger crowd’s vocabular these days.!!! Oh, this is funny!

        “A word used by those intent on decimating the English language, and further depleting the ever dwindling repository of individuals capable of intellectual conversation.

        For anyone who uses the term ‘on fleek’ I’ve added links to the big words to help you out.
        I have a terrible vocabulary because I am a high school dropout. I have difficulty expressing myself with actual words, so I compensate for my inadequacies by using made up words and hope that no one questions it. In the likely event that someone DOES question it, I will react as if they are laughably out of touch. My portrayal of an uneducated social media whore is on fleek.”

        1. adj. hella; on point
        2 adj. very good
        1. My eyebrows are on fleek
        2. James’ personality is on fleek
        eyebrow fleek great

        Turnt: Turnt is a variation of “turned” used only to describe when someone is excessively excited or prepared for the current event. In it’s entirety, it can commonly be seen used as “turnt up,” as in “turned up.”

        A real Debbie Downer, party pooper, or lame-o, would be someone who is turnt down. They simply are neutral in their stature, and unfit for the current event. Alcohol and or/ drugs would be suitable aid to turning them up.
        “David just downed 7 Jager bombs and is fucking that girl from downstairs while wearing your rollerblades, dude! He got so turnt!”

        Bae: AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) pronunciation of “babe,” used as a term of endearment toward loved ones. “Bae” can be a pronoun or an adjective. The term caught fire to mainstream colloquial Standard American English jargon and, due to unfamiliarity with its origins, developed multiple definitions. Trolls and people who dislike its use will often incorrectly juxtapose “bae” with Danish “bæ” which means “poop” (often to shut people up). Others will treat it as an acronym such as “before anyone else.” The term is frowned upon by many, as it is seen as ghetto and uncouth, although its origins are simply dialectal. “My husband is bae!”

        Liked by 1 person

    1. missed you too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      my mom told me she still had internet so i took my laptop…she doesn’t have internet, she still has her computer MONITOR…LOL
      I was so disappointed i couldn’t do anything

      Liked by 1 person

        1. granddaughter played on Wednesday after school. they won 4 to 1. she played offense and defense but not goalie–she won’t play goalie till the cast comes off.
          tests were the same as last year–so I’m not getting worse…LOL
          BUT i had to wear a stupid mask to have blood drawn AND at the doctor’s office.
          when he asked me if anything was bothering me, I grabbed my mask and said THIS bullshit is bothering me.
          He replied that the cdc considers them a “medical industry” and as such they still require masks.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Oh, what BS on the masks!!!! Good for her! Playing with a broken arm! That takes guts!!! Not worse is just fine with me! LOL – I’ve got that open scheduled on both blogs the same day.

            Well, my Sis is finally acknowledging that she just can’t keep driving the school bus. She has to use a cane all the time now. I was talking to Mom earlier (she’s doing well – gloating that her landlord has to pay to have all the sidewalks re-done – LOL) and she mentioned that – I said it’s a miracle that she is walking at all! The doc told her she HAS to slow down.

            Of course, the kids always ask her “You’re driving next year, aren’t you, Miss Carol?” When she said probably not, they all clamored about what they could do to make it easier for her so she didn’t have to leave. They love her sooooo much! But the bumpy roads are just too hard on her back now. She also has issues with bladder infections – due to all her back surgeries, the nerves were cut and she can’t feel it when she gets one – she also is unable to wipe front-to-back because of her back and shoulders. This time, it went into her kidneys and her throat is getting red, so he gave her some meds that will hopefully help and prevent her from getting strep. Several kids on her bus have had it this fall.

            She is going to do some travelling; come up and stay with me for a while – then I can show her what I want done with everything when I go, since she is my Representative in my Will and we want to go over our genealogy together; visit our brothers in NC, KY, and WI, etc. Heaven knows, she deserves the rest!!! She is also going to cut down on the number of animals she keeps – only 2 dogs and 3 cats! We didn’t discuss all her chickens, geese, etc.

            Liked by 1 person

  20. Liked by 1 person

    1. You know, I don’t know who is lying in the case of him allegedly paying his GF to have an abortion. Frankly, it wouldn’t surprise me if he did – it was many years ago. A lot of peoples’ minds have changed now on abortion – mine has, ever since I saw the zinc spark video. If that’s the case, I would hope Herschel wouldn’t lie about it but…..who knows. Doesn’t really matter – even if he is lying about it, he’s still thousands of times better than that other POS!!!

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Wow! It’s turned into a beautiful day – 72 and mostly sunny, but still kind of windy. We’re expecting the mid-to-high 20’s tonight and thru the week-end but a little warmer next week.

    Liked by 1 person

  28. apparently piglosi was filmed (by her daughter) claiming if the president (Trump) showed up at the capitol (1/6) she would punch him out. that’s a crime!
    FTA
    The footage of Pelosi’s staff reporting to her that Trump had been dissuaded from marching to the Capitol makes it perfectly obvious that they were performing for the cameras.

    The subsequent 7-minute footage leaked does have some jerky camera moments, but the mood is relaxed, and most importantly, Pelosi was performing for the camera. She speaks louder than normal on phone calls and even enunciates her words while focusing on and even occasionally looking at the camera.

    Also performing for the camera was then–Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.

    It is quite likely that Pelosi was allowed the luxury of retakes by her daughter, who was shooting the footage.

    Individuals fearing for their lives would never allow cameras to exploit such moments. Their sole focus would be to emerge alive from the ordeal. A documentary or intimate footage of victims escaping the World Trade Center on 9-11 after the planes hit the Twin Towers is unimaginable. But the Democrats are still attempting to push the narrative that January 6, 2021 was just like September 11, 2001.

    This is insensitive to the victims and survivors of 9-11.

    But when have the Democrats ever cared for human sentiments while pushing narratives?

    “I hope he comes, I’m going to punch him out … I’m going to punch him out, I’m going to go to jail, and I’m going to be happy.”

    — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s just-revealed response to the prospect of former President Trump potentially marching to the Capitol on January 6th. pic.twitter.com/XePdjploDg
    — The Recount (@therecount) October 14, 2022

    It would be interesting to know who paid Alexandra Pelosi for her documentary. Was it the DNC or the taxpayer? It is also a case of nepotism — i.e., of all the documentary filmmakers in America, Nancy allows her daughter to make videos.

    In the end, the footage made it amply clear that the insurrection was a hoax that the Democrats concocted when they learned about Trump’s Stop the Steal rally in Washington.

    It is also curious that Pelosi and the others were had concluded even before the Capitol break in that Trump was to blame. The goal is and always will be to prevent Trump from running in 2024.

    Now for the law.

    A threat of violence against a president is a federal felony under U.S. Code Title 18, Section 871. The law states that “any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States” will lead to “a fine and imprisonment, not more than five years, or both.”

    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/10/january_6th_footage_debunks_the_insurrection_narrative_and_shows_pelosi_breaking_federal_law.html

    Liked by 1 person

  29. From The Bee:

    AUSTIN, TX — In a landslide victory during a special statewide referendum this week, Texans overwhelmingly voted to have a giant airship pick up Austin via tow cables and drop the city off in California.

    As the city is mostly inhabited by Californians who left their state due to the cost of living, high taxes, and crime – and then proceeded to vote for the same policies in Texas – the move is just “setting things right” by sending immigrants from the Golden State “back where they belong,” according to the bill’s sponsors.

    The act took effect immediately, and a massive, lumbering dirigible slowly crawled over the city, its ominous shadow eclipsing the coffee shops, microbreweries, and vegan hemp handbag stores below. Liberals screamed and attempted to flee, but it was too late. Harpoon cannons blasted massive steel cables into the Pennybacker Bridge, the Independent skyscraper, and various other anchor points throughout the city. The airship then rose into the sky, lifting the city along with millions of Austin progressives thousands of feet into the air.

    “Oh no!” cried recent Texas transplants Timpani and Steve Strudelfudd as the ground shook and they nearly fell off their electric scooters in downtown Austin. “This is, like, totally, like, one of those earthquake things from back home! Hold onto your lattes!”

    The city was safely transported back to California and dropped off in a nice rural area north of Santa Clarita. Texas is once again safely red, and many Austin residents reportedly don’t even realize they’ve been transported to California.

    As for any progressive transplants still living in Texas, Governor Abbott has vowed to continue secret midnight flights of these liberals back to their home countries of California, Washington, and Oregon.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Biden is warning of a coming nuclear apocalypse, but don’t worry! A thermonuclear war that wipes out most life on the planet wouldn’t be all bad! Let’s look at the bright side, shall we?

      Here are 9 great upsides of a nuclear apocalypse:

      1. You never have to go to IKEA again: Never again will you have to navigate a labyrinthian hellscape of cheap furniture and meatballs! Yay!

      2. You have this cool extra arm growing out of your shoulder now: You can multitask!

      3. Flash from the explosion will burn out your eyes so you won’t have to see whatever Lizzo does next: Praise be!

      4. Your friends who made fun of you for keeping all your DVDs will be jealous since all the streaming services are down now: Who’s laughing now?

      5. Everyone will agree how terrible Biden was: At last, unity in America!

      6. No more climate change: More importantly, no more Swedish teens lecturing you on climate change.

      7. You’ll finally feel vindicated for spending $7,000 on a chicken coop and raising chickens: Eggs are the new currency. You’re rich!

      8. The 750 hours you sank into the Fallout franchise won’t have gone to waste: You’ve been training for this your whole life.

      9. You’ll finally have time! All the time in the world! Time enough to enjoy all your Tuttle Twins books! Now, where were your glasses?: *CRACK… “NOOOOOOOOO!”

      See? Things won’t be so bad! Now quit yer bellyachin’! And don’t forget to take your iodine.

      Liked by 1 person

  30. More Bee:

    BOCA RATON, FL — A fierce Monopoly game night has once again made the very subtle transition into a murder mystery evening.

    “It may have gotten a bit out of hand,” admitted local woman Abigail Newton. “The trouble is that this time, it’s the banker that’s dead. So it really could have been anybody. The game is afoot!”

    As board game aficionados, the Newtons frequently host friends and family for game night. However, sources report that only those gatherings featuring Monopoly have lead to actual murder. “I don’t know what it is about this game,” said Mr. Sam Newton. “It really brings out the criminal insanity in people. Welp, time to figure out who done it!”

    Those familiar with evening say the tension really began to ratchet up when guests Stephen and June Novak insisted on using the old-school bartering rules, but then proceeded to engage in property trades that raised suspicion. “Short Line for Park Place? DO YOU THINK WE’RE BLIND?” screamed Mr. Newton as June Novak set down a hotel, taking a commanding lead. A mere two turns later, Mrs. Newton’s elderly grandmother was bankrupted by June after landing on Boardwalk, and absolute chaos ensued.

    At publishing time, the group reports that they believe the murderer was Mrs. Newton, in the kitchen, with the tiny top hat.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Actually, FL was not included on the list if he’s talking about the bill to keep the government open….this is from Angus King’s website – he’s a thorough asswipe! Could be there is assistance for FL and he just didn’t list it, I guess.

      “The package funds the federal government through December 16th, 2022 and includes:

      $1 billion for LIHEAP, which helps families afford their heating and utility bills during the coldest winter months;

      $12 billion in critical emergency aid for Ukraine as the country continues to defend itself from Putin’s vicious attacks, and $35 million to promote nuclear nonproliferation efforts in the region;

      Billions in disaster aid to Kentucky, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and New Mexico to recover from floods, wildfires, and other disasters;

      Reimbursement benefits for veterans traveling to access mental health services at Vet Centers until September 2023;

      $2.8 billion to support continued national security efforts and ensure our servicemembers continued to get paid.”

      DeSantis’ wife headed up a foundation that raised $45M, IIRC. I expect they will also get assistance via FEMA.

      Like

  35. Entire Article @ ReclaimTheNet: “US TV host and journalist John Stossel sued Facebook (Meta) and its third-party “fact-checkers” – specifically, Science Feedback, as several of these groups’ parent companies, and its site Climate Feedback – for defamation.

    But the US District Court, Northern District of California has granted both Meta’s motion to dismiss the defamation complaint with prejudice (meaning that it cannot be refiled), as well as Meta’s and Science Feedback’s anti-SLAPP motions.

    We obtained a copy of the decision for you here.

    One of Stossel’s videos, “Government Fueled Fires,” got labeled as “missing context,” and then deliberately downranked by Facebook’s algorithms, resulting in traffic and revenue loss from his account with more than a million followers.

    The video was seen as “downplaying” climate change as the decisive factor and primary cause of the 2020 California wildfires, asserting instead that although the phenomenon plays a role, it was bad policies that contributed the most to the scale of that natural disaster.

    In April 2021, Stossel published another video, “Are We Doomed?”, that discusses what the journalist calls environmental alarmists and their claims. This one received the “partly false information” from Facebook’s “fact-checking partner.”

    Stossel’s failed lawsuit sought to prove that Facebook and the “fact-checker” in question defamed him in the first instance by falsely inferring that he made a statement he says he never did, and in the other, by accusing him of making false statements.

    The court explained its decision by saying that, although called a “fact-check program” what Facebook is actually doing – and has the right to do – is “reflect a subjective judgment about the accuracy and reliability of assertions made.”

    Therefore, the use of the term “fact” isn’t to say that Facebook is under an obligation to establish actual facts, and apply its censorship accordingly. “Simply because the process by which content is assessed and a label applied is called a ‘fact-check’ does not mean that the assessment itself is an actionable statement of objective fact.”

    The defamation complaint was dismissed based on CDA’s Section 230 and the protections it affords Facebook in crafting (and wording) its policies.

    Facebook’s and “fact-checker’s” motions to dismiss based on anti-SLAPP (Anti-Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) rules were granted because Facebook is a public forum, the court said.”

    https://reclaimthenet.org/john-stossel-sued-facebook-meta-dismissed/

    Liked by 1 person

  36. Entire Article @ ReclaimTheNet: (owned by Warren Buffet)

    “Jurors in a district court in Illinois sided with truck drivers in a class-action lawsuit that alleged that BNSF Railway collected drivers’ biometric data without their consent and without explaining how the data would be used. Both are requirements under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

    BNSF lawyers argued that their client did not own the fingerprint scanning systems used to collect the drivers’ biometrics. The scanners were operated by Remprex. The drivers’ fingerprints had to be scanned to gain access to a rail yard. The defendant’s motion to dismiss the case because it did not own the fingerprint scanners was denied.

    45,000 drivers joined the class-action lawsuit. According to legal news outlet LexBlog, BNSF railway will pay at least $44 million, if the court chooses BIPA’s minimum damage award of $1,000. The settlement could be way higher if the court awards damages for every incident of an illegal biometric scan.

    In another BIPA case, Cothron v. White Castle, currently at the Illinois Supreme Court, it was argued that multiple scans, though illegal, amount to only one violation.

    Predicting a loss, earlier this week, BNSF lawyers asked the judge to prevent a jury verdict.”

    Liked by 1 person

  39. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

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