The sky lights up and before I get to the window, I hear the rumbling of thunder. I open the window and the smell of the wet earth washes over me. I close my eyes and remember my fifth grade teacher reciting a French poem about the wonderful smell of the earth when the first raindrops dance over the ground. I open my eyes to make sure that I am not imagining it all and with a big smile sit by the window enjoying the beauty of the first shower of the season.Thinking what a wonderful world this would be if those little raindrops could wash people’s hearts the same way they wash the trees and houses.

If only!

for now, I have to settle for the symphony of those little raindrops on the window.  Fall is officially here.

Today I am a guest at Claire’s wonderful blog Promenade Plantings. Claire is off on vacation for a week with friends and family and I volunteered to write a guest post for her while she was away. If you have never been to Claire’s blog, I strongly suggest you change that.Claire has a passion for gardening that shines through her every post. She enjoys taking care of her plot near her house in St  Leonard’s in England and shares wonderful seasonal recipe using her own ingredients that she grows lovingly in her little plot (like this amazing roundup of courgette recipes). She also shares breathtaking pictures of flowers and glimpses into her trips and travels.If all that is not enough Claire shares posts that are deeply insightful.posts that make me think or smile and above all they make me happy to be a dot in her connected world of dots 🙂

With the refreshing fall showers and cold morning breeze, autumn brings apples, figs, pomegranates and of course, pumpkins. For some people , pumpkins are only good for pumpkin pie and jack o lanterns. Well I am here today to tell you that there is so much more that those bright orange orbs can offer and we’ll start with toasted pumpkin seeds

Toasted pumpkin seeds make for a wonderful snack, they are great when you have friends coming over or when you are craving something crunchy and want to stay clear of the chips. What I love about toasting pumpkin seeds at home is the fact that I can play around with flavors. You can always play it safe and only add salt but if you are feeling adventurous try paprika, ginger, garlic powder or your favorite spice and come up with your own seasoning mix for toasted pumpkin seeds

Please take the time t visit my guest post at Claire’s blog

Ginger paprika toasted pumpkin seeds

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• To season the      seeds:
• powdered ginger
• paprika
• Olive oil

Method

Scoop out the insides of your pumpkin.

Separate the seeds from the stringy core and then rinse them

In a small saucepan, add the water, seeds and 1 tablespoon of salt

Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

Spread your seeds on a baking sheet and allow to dry completely

Drizzle the seeds once they get dry with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with the seasoning of your choice (I went with ginger and paprika).

Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer.

Bake in a preheated oven at 200 C till they become golden brown ( 10-20 minutes).

Take the seeds out of the oven and allow to cool completely before eating.

Either crack to remove the inner seed or eat whole (my personal choice)

Notes:

Simmering the seeds in salty water aims at allowing the salt to go into the seeds, so you don’t only get salty shells but the seeds too are seasoned to perfection