spooky scary

sele and i jumped on the pumpkin carving bandwagon this week. we both chose this year to go with the stencil pattern method of carving. i downloaded a spooky owl from they hershey's activities website. sele had the brilliant idea of carving the oakland oak tree into her pumpkin. luckily, we didn't discover the yes we carve website until the morning after pumpkin carving. talk about spooky scary.
our choice pumpkin selections came from trader joes, and we made a special trip to long's to buy pumpkin carving tools. i, being the miserly person that i am, was hesitant to spend money on things i sort of already had at home (knives, spoons) but it turned out to be entirely worth it. for one, we found out at the cash register that pumpkin carving sets were on clearance, so we ended up spending $5 for two sets and some requisite chocolate. one of the pumpkin carving tools is a battery powered carving tool, which i was highly skeptical about, but turned out to be the key to quickly and deftly creating our pumpkin masterpieces. and the batteries are replaceable, so it's highly recommended.


here are the carving necessities: plastic-wrapped table, stencils, carving tools, pumpkins, bowls for pumpkin guts, and a drink we created out of whiskey and packets of instant ginger honey crystal tea - kinda like a hot toddy.


when i cut the top off my pumpkin it started weeping this clear liquid. also, the holes i punched in the side as stars developed bruise-like circles around them. i don't know what that's about but i prefer my pumpkins a little less anthropomorphic.


the stenciling process involves poking little holes through your paper to transfer the image directly onto your pumpkin and then removing the stencil and carving away.


here's my little owl looking at its stencil reflection.


and here he is with a removable wing, which i decided to keep propped in there to add another dimension to the carving.
i learned a few useful tips on pumpkin carving during the process. one is that you should cut a "chimney" in the top of your pumpkin where a dark spot starts to appear from your candle to let the heat out. i haven't perfected the placement of my chimney, so my owl's top is a little melty now. another is if you have trouble seeing your dot transfers (i didn't because my pumpkin bruised easily) you can rub white flour over the surface and it will illuminate your holes.


here's sele making quick work of the oakland tree.


which turned out beautifully and should win some sort of city prize.


here's the lit-up version of the owl. i'm quite pleased.

finally, after the cutting was done i got to do my other favorite seasonal activity: roasting pumpkin seeds. beside the obvious satisfaction of feeling like i "used" the entire pumpkin (in the way that putting the whole thing on your front doorstep to rot is putting it to use), those roasted seeds are so tasty. i resisted the temptation to rinse the slimy pumpkin innard juice off the seeds before roasting because i think i did that last time and the water made them soggy. so this time i sprinkled them with salt, nutmeg, paprika,turmeric, and my new favorite thing to add to everything: chipotle chili. halfway through roasting them (at 350 degrees) i realized they were sticking to the bottom of the pan and added about a teaspoon or so of safflower oil. good move, that increased the crispiness factor as well, i think. the sweet nutmeg and savory chili was a little odd, but that's what i was going for and we must have liked it because they were all gone by morning.