Odds are you’ve already dismembered at least one pumpkin this season. Maybe you’re a true country kid, like me, and grew them in your backyard when you were young. Either way, as a college student, you’re always looking for more food. Good news: You can have your jack-o’-lantern and eat it, too.
Fast Facts
People have always agreed pumpkins are full of possibility, and not just for aspiring Michelangelos. They were once thought to cure freckles and snakebites; now, we know the seeds are mineral-rich and contain tryptophan, a compound that your body can break down into serotonin, which helps you sleep. The pumpkin itself, its seeds and even its flowers are edible. If you prefer not to eat yours, there’s always the annual Punkin Chunkin contest in Dover, Delaware, in which competitors launch pumpkins via homemade catapults. The next contest is in Nov. 2015.
What I Made
After going pumpkin picking with my youth group, I collected a small mountain of seeds from our jack-o’-lanterns. The hardest part was picking them out of the pumpkin guts. They made a squishy noise that sounded like people chewing bananas and felt like something you might step in during an especially scary haunted house. Once you clear that hurdle, though, it’s easy to toss them with whatever topping you’d like and bake them according to these simple instructions. I made cinnamon seeds, classic seeds and some plain ones for pumpkin brittle.
Other Options
If you have a blender, you can turn those grisly guts into puree, which is the gateway to pumpkin glory. For example, bumpkin bread. Or, even more intriguing: pumpkin butter. Most exciting of all: pumpkin ice cream. Maybe, though, you’re the kind of person who isn’t putting your hands back in that slime for anything. That’s OK. I completely sympathize. As long as you rescued your pumpkin seeds before deciding this, you can still try pumpkin brittle. It’s guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth.
