How To Roast Seeds After An Orange Pumpkin Patch Visit

ORANGE, CT — The holidays, including Halloween, will look very different this year thanks to the coronavirus. However, some quintessential fall activities such as visiting pumpkin patches in or around Orange and carving jack-o’-lanterns will stay the same.

In 2020, more people are cooking at home and trying to maximize every penny spent. Here’s a simple way to keep that up: Don’t toss out those pumpkin seeds. Instead, turn them into a delicious snack.

First, pick up a pumpkin from one of pumpkin patches in the region, such as:

• Sunflower Farm of Orange at 767 Derby Milford Road. They are open 12-5 Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on weekends.

• Robert Treat Farm at 1339 New Haven Ave. in Milford. They are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
• Jones Family Farms at 120 Beardsley Road in Shelton. Pumpkin season will begin September 26, open daily. Pumpkin season is located at Pumpkinseed Hill at 120 Beardsley Road in Shelton. The farm's preview weekend is the last weekend in September and the season runs daily through Halloween. Guests can visit the farm from 10am to 5:30pm.

After you gut the pumpkin for carving, keep the seeds in a bag until you are ready to roast them. Pumpkin seeds are loaded with potassium, packed with fiber and protein, and are the perfect snack to serve your little ghosts and goblins.

Here’s our favorite recipe for baking seeds:

Separate the seeds in a bowl as you clean each pumpkin. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Rinse the seeds in cold water and strain. Pat seeds dry with a paper towel. In a bowl, toss the seeds in just enough olive oil to coat.

Spray an edged baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and spread seeds in a single layer. Season seeds with kosher salt to taste. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy. Seal leftovers in an airtight plastic container.

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin seeds
• Olive oil
• Sea salt

Make Your Jack-O’-Lanterns Last

When you carve that perfect pumpkin, you can plan on it lasting up to 10 days before it starts to show signs of aging. However, if you want to make it last longer, you can mix three teaspoons of bleach with 3 gallons of water and spray the solution throughout, according to Clorox.