Since I’m not obsessed with PSL and nobody in my house is going back to school, autumn is more about crisp air, the smell of leaves, and fall veggies from the farm. That means savory, buttery squash, and crispy, crunchy pumpkin seeds!

Every year I have the best intentions of saving up all our squash/pumpkin seeds and roasting them all up at once, but they sit in a container in the fridge and getting sad and moldy. Very disappointing. I mean, there will be free protein (12g per cup of seeds!) showing up in my CSA box almost every week now, if I just do something about it!

So tonight I combined these two easy recipes and made it happen. This is more about building a sustainable habit than creating a new dish.

The thing about roasting squash is that it takes forever. (45 minutes is a lot when you’re hungry… Don’t judge me ) But that gives you the perfect time to clean up the seeds you’ve scooped out, give them a boil on the stove, and then stick them in with the squash for the last half hour (leaving you just enough time to throw together this chili )

Lately I’m having some variation on this salad for lunch and roasted squash seeds are going to be the perfect seasonal substitute for chopped walnuts!

The butternut squash I made tonight made a nice little handful of seeds that cooked quickly and is a single serving. No more moldy raw seeds and no giant tub of roasted seeds that I binge on and get all salty and bloated.

So what’s your favorite fall feeling?

Ingredients

• 1 squash
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• butter (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Slice the squash in half and scoop the guts into a bowl.
3. Spray or drizzle both halves of squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. (This technique is best for hard to peel squash like butternut and acorn, but feel free to peel and dice your squash instead! Just be aware it will probably cook faster.)
4. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet and pour about 1/2 cup of water in.
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until tender.
6. While the squash bakes, pick the seeds out of the squash goo and into a small sauce pan. Make sure to get them really good and clean.
7. Cover with water, add a teaspoon of salt, and bring to a boil.
8. Simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Drain seeds, toss with a teaspoon of olive oil and some salt, and spread them out on another baking sheet.
10. When your squash is done, reduce the oven to 325 degrees
11. Bake seeds for 20-30 minutes, tossing every 10 or so to prevent them from getting to dark.
12. While the seeds bake, scoop the squash out of its skin, mash, and serve (with optional butter on top)!