Spiced Pumpkin Balls and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

"Come said the wind to the leaves one day,

come o'er the meadows and we will play.

Put on your dresses scarlet and gold,

for summer is gone and the days grow cold."

A child's song from the 1880s

It's less than a week until Thanksgiving.  There are a few trees and bushes around town that are holding on to fall color.  Mostly the leaves are on the ground and piled at curbs.  City trucks make circuitous routes through neighborhoods "vacuuming" them up daily.  The weather has been dry for the past week leaving a bed of crunchy leaves to walk through.

As each of you prepare to celebrate the harvest in your own way, I'm once again sharing a few favorite recipes of mine.  The spiced pumpkin ball recipe is handwritten on a  card.  I'm almost certain that it came from a decade's old Gourmet.  Whatever the source, it is a delicious addition to a relish tray.  If you haven't already, I hope you'll give it a try.

Spiced Pumpkin Balls-from Gourmet?

2 cups pumpkin balls (use the larger end of a melon baller) from 3 pie pumpkins

(Save the pumpkin seeds)

1 2/3 cups of sugar

3/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 cinnamon stick, broken in two

6 whole cloves

6 whole allspice

4 2" strips of lemon peel

Combine all ingredients except the pumpkin in a stainless steel saucepan.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for five minutes. 

Add the pumpkin balls and simmer for fifteen minutes.  

Transfer to a pint jar and pour the liquid over.

Chill at least three hours or up to a week.

Next up, use those saved pumpkin seeds for this delicious snack.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (Pepitas) 

I used three pie pumpkins for my spiced pumpkin balls and saved the seeds.  I had approximately two cups of seeds.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Lightly oil a 12 x 11 baking pan.

Spread the seeds out in a single layer.

Sprinkle with sea salt and toss, pulling some of the oil onto the seeds.

Roast for about 25 minutes, just until they start to lightly brown.

Cool and store in an airtight container.

ENJOY and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!