Oh Pumpkin Seeds, How Delicious You Are & A Recipe

Still have some leftover seeds from pumpkin carving and need a great recipe?  I tried a new tactic this year, agave nectar making its first appearance in our anual pumpkin seed roasting routine.

::YUM::

First things first, we enjoyed a little trip to a local veggie stand for our pumpkins, locally sourced is always better, and in this case more fun!  They had a mini corn maze, cider, and candy for the kids...not to mention some gorgeous pumpkins!  We picked out some big guys for carving jack-o-lanterns and some little guys for just plain lanterns (used for ambiance at our halloween party).

After the carving came the roasting, and this year those seeds came out perfect!

Recipe:

Pumpkin seeds (I also roasted some giant spaghetti squash seeds as well which were equally yum)
Olive oil
Agave Nectar
Tamari

So easy to make.  Just clean all the pumpkin guts from the seeds, and lay them out in a pan about 2 to 3 seeds thick.  Pour olive oil generously coating the seeds, and then add the tamari and agave nectar to taste (about equal amounts of each for a perfect salty sweet flavor).

Bake on low, 250 degrees until seeds are beautifully browned and somewhat crispy.  They will continue to be sticky and messy even when fully cooked.

Healthy, festive, and super easy!  I have been putting them in the kid's school lunches for a healthy autumn treat.

::Enjoy::

Too Much Beauty

These are just a few beautiful shots I've taken lately....the season is too lovely for words with smiles to match.  :)

Fall Carnival and Volunteering

Volunteering.  I try to volunteer a lot in my kid's school, mostly so I know what my kids are talking about when they tell me about their day...but also because my mom was a teacher and I know first hand how under paid and over extended teachers are.  Can you believe my kid's class sizes average 25 to 30 kids per teacher?!?  I could never do it day in and day out, teachers are amazing people.

Most recently I volunteered to paint the posters advertising our school's first ever Fall Festival.  It is a fundraising event, and it should be lots of fun.  I spent a morning painting up a storm in the garage, and it made me feel great to be helping out, especially because I love volunteering my art skills.  :)

I'm hoping to volunteer for the 'Art Smart' program as well...you know keeping kids from eating the glue, mopping up spilled tempra paint, and handing out safety scissors....I can totally do that.

I dropped the posters off this morning and was met with true appreciation, which is a good step in the right direction, since we are new to the school.  I left with more paper and paint, and will kick out another batch before the big night.

Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something.  ~Author Unknown

What inspires you to volunteer?