Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

I think everyone should give themselves a daily little treat. It could be anything you like.

From eating a piece of chocolate to barefoot on grass. We should do something that makes us happy everyday.

For example, I love going to the beach and look for sea glass. Or having vanilla custard for dinner. Or getting a free coffee from Waitrose.

There are weeks when I could do with a couple of treats a day. And this week is one of them. I have a cold and feel pretty rubbish. I am also quite stressed and feeling a bit overwhelmed. My back and neck ache. My head feels like a shaken snow globe. And I´m feeling unusually emotional.We did a lovely carved pumpkin for Halloween. Someone stole the one my eldest son did. He was so heartbroken that we both ended up crying in our doorstep.

So this week I´ve been treating myself on a daily basis: chocolate, film in bed, new shoes and nice lunches.

But the best treat of the week has been these roasted seeds. We absolutely loved them, shell included. They were so wonderfully crunchy and easy to eat, that cheered me up for a good couple of hours.

How do you normally treat yourself?

WHAT YOU NEED

Pumpkin Seeds! 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Herbs of your choice

WHAT YOU DO

Cut the pumpkin by cutting a circle around the stem end with a sharp knife, and pulling off the top. Scoop out the seeds.

Remove all the large chunks of squash flesh and strings. Put the seeds in a colander and rinse under cool running water, removing any additional flesh. Shake colander to remove water.

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add seeds and boil for 5 minutes. Drain well then transfer to a baking tray and drizzle with a small amount of oil. Season with herbs, salt and pepper.

Spread the seeds out so they are in a single layer. Place the baking tray into the oven. Small pumpkin seeds may toast in around 5 minutes or so, large pumpkin seeds may take up to 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the seeds so they don't get over toasted. When lightly browned, remove the tray from the oven and let the seeds cool all the way down before eating.

Either crack to remove the inner seed or eat whole.