Pumpkins or squash originated in the ancient America’s which varied in different shapes, sizes, and colors from the pumpkins we know today. Throughout history these hearty winter squash served as an important food source that saved many people from starvation during the colder months.
In the present day, pumpkins are still a revered food source and can be found in various recipes across different cultures. A popular recipe both in ancient times and the present is roasted pumpkin seeds which can be enjoyed a number of different ways.
This specific recipe uses seeds from the sugar pumpkin which possesses a sweeter firmer flesh that is ideal for baking. This way you can utilize not only the seeds of the sugar pumpkin but also use the flesh to make a delightful pumpkin pie or custard. Lastly, this recipe is best paired with strains that have earthy, woodsy, or sandalwood flavor profiles. As these types of flavors really deepen the taste of the salted pumpkin seeds for a lip-smacking treat that you will want to make every late fall harvest season.
During ancient times in the America’s, it is believed that Native American’s cultivated pumpkins along creek and river banks with other crops such as sunflowers, beans, then eventually corn. From this emerged the tradition of the “Three Sisters”, where pumpkins were grown with corn and beans because the three plants mutually benefited from each other.
In this relationship, the corn created a natural trellis for the bean vines to grow along while the beans created nitrogen rich soil and stabilized the corn stalks during high winds. While the pumpkin vines prevented weeds from infesting the ground which would rob the Three Sisters of valuable nutrients and also regulated moisture in the soil. Because pumpkins could be harvested right up until the first freeze and then later be stored for months, this squash was able to feed families in a variety of ways throughout the winter. Native American’s roasted, baked, and boiled the flesh over fire for consumption. They also dried then ground pumpkins to make flour and roasted their seeds for food in addition to medicinal purposes.
Today, we are most familiar with Sugar pumpkins, Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins, and heirloom varieties. Sugar pumpkins make everything from pies to muffins to sweet breads to custards whereas Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins are used solely for decorative purposes. Heirloom varieties or seeds that have been handed down generation after generation are generally baked, broiled, sautéed, or roasted then eaten alongside a meal. By selecting a sugar pumpkin for this recipe you get the benefit of roasting the seeds along with the option of preparing the sweet flesh for another recipe as this is the tastiest of all pumpkins.
When preparing this recipe for roasted kief pumpkin seeds I would recommend pairing strains that possess earthy, woodsy, or sandalwood like terpenes and flavonoids. The following would be ideal: Hashplant, Alaskan Ice, Purple Haze, S.A.G.E, Herijuana, or Burmese Kush. If you do not have access to these strains then use your nose and taste buds to find other strains that have similar smell and flavor profiles. Finally, when you make this recipe, reflect back on the history of the pumpkin and give thanks to the generations before you who handed down their knowledge so freely. Enjoy each bite as you also say goodbye to Fall and hello to Winter.
Mise en place:
- 1 small sugar pumpkin
- Olive oil
- Sea Salt
- Black Hawaiian Sea Salt
- Black Pepper
- Decarboxylized gram of Kief from your strain of choice
Directions:
- Gut the sugar pumpkin and clean the seeds thoroughly in running water. The easiest way I found to do this is to add the pumpkin seeds to a large bowl and let gentle running water go into the bowl while I clean off the seeds.
- Add the cleaned seeds to a large pot. Once all of the seeds have been transferred over, add ¾ of cold water to the pot. Add in one teaspoon of sea salt and bring this mixture to a boil. Let this mixture boil for 5 minutes then drop to a simmer for 10 more minutes. Drain the seeds then blot dry with a towel or paper towel.
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Spread the dried seeds onto two sheet pans and drizzle olive oil over the seeds. Now flip and turn all of the seeds into the olive oil then make sure that all of the seeds are lying flat on the pan. Season the seeds with Black Hawaiian sea salt. You may choose at this point to add the kief to the pumpkin seeds or wait till after they are roasted.* Roast the seeds for 15 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir up the seeds then roast for another 5-10 minutes or until crunchy. Pull from the oven then scoop up all the seeds and olive oil with a rubber spatula into a jar or container. Enjoy warm from the oven!
Decarbing:
To properly decarboxylize kief: preheat your oven to 220 degrees F. Take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper that will not burn in the oven. Very carefully sprinkle the kief onto the sheet making sure that it is evenly disbursed. Place the baking sheet into the oven uncovered and heat for 25 minutes. Pull the baking sheet from the oven, and let it cool completely. Be very careful when removing it from the pan. You now have decarboxylized or “activated” medical kief that is ready for consumption.
*There are a few ways that you can medicate these delicious roasted sugar pumpkin seeds:
- Add the decarboxylized kief after the Black Hawaiian sea salt. Do not worry about spilling some kief on the pan as you will be scooping up all of the seeds and oil with a rubber spatula.
- Add the decarboxylized kief after the seeds have been pulled from the oven and scraped into a jar. To add the kief after: remove the seeds and olive oil from the pan into a jar then sprinkle the kief over the seeds. Gently stir the warm seeds so that they are coated with the kief mixture.
- Mix the decarboxylized kief with other herbs and spices of your choice such as: garlic, onion powder, thyme, or sage. At this point you can choose to add the mixture before or after the seeds have been roasted. To add the mixture after: remove the seeds and olive oil from the pan into a jar then sprinkle the mixture over the seeds. Gently stir the warm seeds so that they are coated with the herbed kief mixture.
- Add the decarboxylized kief to olive oil and infuse the olive oil. Then coat the sugar pumpkin seeds with the infused olive oil.
Dosage:
If the gram of kief tests at 50% THC, fifty percent of 1,000mg would be 500mg. So if you added 1 gram worth of kief into the total recipe at 50% THC and had 8 servings worth of roasted pumpkin seeds it would look something like this: 62.50mg per serving. Sub the number of your THC percentage and do the math to figure out your dosing. If you want a smaller dose, cut the gram by half or make even smaller servings such as 16 to produce 31.25mg per portion.
If it is unknown what the percentage is, then you would be consuming 0.125g of activated kief if you broke it into 8 servings. What this denotes is that if you weighed out 0.125g on a scale, that amount of kief would be in your roasted pumpkin seed serving. Refer to the dosing chart in my book if you would like to tailor your dose and experience even more.
Strain Suggestions:
I would recommend strains that possess earthy, woodsy, or sandalwood like terpenes and flavonoids. The following would be ideal: Hashplant, Alaskan Ice, Purple Haze, S.A.G.E, Herijuana, or Burmese Kush.