Don't throw away (or compost) the innards of your pie or jack-o-lantern pumpkins! Amongst the tricky pith are treats, delicious seeds! By the way, a serrated grapefruit spoon is my favorite tool for scooping pumpkin flesh.

Soak the pumpkin innards in water for a bit and then separate seeds from stringy pulp by hand.

Rinse the seeds in clear water again until they are completely free of orange goop. Strain through a sieve to remove most of the water.

Place seeds in a shallow layer on a cookie sheet pan. Sprinkle them with soy sauce and Old Bay. For this batch of seeds from 8 pie pumpkins, I used about a teaspoon of each.

Roast in a 300 degree oven for about an hour, turning every 15 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy! Unlike candy treats, home roasted pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein, fiber, and zinc.

Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a year.

NB: You can save raw (un-roasted) seeds for planting next year by removing them from the pith and placing on a coffee filter to dry completely. Most pumpkins are non-hybridized, meaning they will readily grow and produce fruit from seed. Store thoroughly dry seeds in a paper envelope and direct sow in June for ripe pumpkins near Halloween time.

This post was added to Hearth and Soul Volume 19.