Hi all, Lane County Extension Service Master Gardener John Fischer here with KLCC's Good Gardening.
I try to use all of what comes out of my garden. A little trimming of bad spots, perhaps a creative recipe or two can help assure that good edible food I grow does not get thrown away. But there is one crop many people only use part of - squash.
The seeds of many squash are wonderful and full of protein. Pumpkin, Butternut, Acorn, and spaghetti squash seeds are all well suited to roasting. While the seed hulls can be a little tough, soaking them in soy or tamari sauce for a few days before roasting makes them more consumable with almost no - where do I spit this - roughage. Salt water can have a similar effect, but the roasted seeds are not as tasty in my opinion.
Separating the seeds from the pulp can be time consuming. I don't try to get every seed out of the squash. Scoop out the easy ones, let them soak in water for half an hour, and the seeds will separate from the pulp more easily. After the seeds have dried- a colander is a good place - put enough soy sauce or tamari on them to coat the seeds. They don't need to be swimming.
After two or three days of soaking with occasional stirring, roast them on flat pans at 350 degrees until they are crunchy, but not burned. Turn them over, and stir them a few times with a spatula during the roasting.
The seeds from sweet meat and Hubbard squash do not roast well. The flesh of your Halloween pumpkins can be used for cooking if you carve them on Halloween, and bake them when you get back from trick or treating.
If you roast a bunch of seeds all at once, keep the seeds in airtight jars to preserve the pleasing crunchy texture. Since most winter squash keep until April, you can enjoy them, and the seeds, for the next six months.
