A Timeless Halloween Tradition

If you've been following this blog for the past month, it would come as no surprise that we here at Caution: Idiot At Play love Halloween. One of the things we like most about Halloween is carving pumpkins. One of our favorite (and most popular) features is the Bad-Ass Pumpkin Line-Up, where we showcase some of the coolest, most inventive geeky pumpkins we can find. But we also like to carve our own pumpkins as well.

As you probably read, a few weeks ago, the wife and I headed down to the farm to pick out our pumpkins. Though some time had passed and things got a little busy, we managed to get them carved. It had been so long since we got them that my pumpkin started going soft in the back but I was able to make a pretty good carving. Anyway, here are a few pics from the ordeal.

First up is mine:

Though it didn't come out perfect, I'm pleased with what I made. I didn't have any kind of pattern to work with but I found an image online of the same design someone carved and just sketched it on the front of the pumpkin with silver marker. Luckily you can't see the marker in the pics. I had a hard time gutting the pumpkin so there are a bunch of thin strings hanging down in the back. Either way, I'm proud of my Ninja Turtle.

And my wife's:

Lauren did find a carving pattern of the Little Mermaid here. She took the time to poke out a few guide holes and did a really great job on the hair. Her hand started to cramp up so she wasn't as meticulous with the face, which is why her eyes and mouth look a little small. Despite that, her carving looks pretty good and I think she did a great job.

So what does one do after carving pumpkins? Clean off the seeds and bake 'em! One of the reasons we love carving pumpkins so much is that it means we get to have toasted pumpkin seeds, one of our favorite snacks. I think we like them so much because we really only get to eat them once a year but hot damn are they worth the wait. They're really simple to make, too; the most annoying part is cleaning the pumpkin guts off of them. But all you have to do is lay them flat on a baking tray, sprinkle some salt on them (I like using Molly McButter for some extra flavor) and put them in a 350º oven for about 8 minutes, flip them and put them back in for about 3 more minutes. Once they're brown they're ready to eat.

I'm glad we were able to get our pumpkins carved in time for Halloween, something that we weren't able to do last year. Thanks for checking out our pumpkins and I hope you all have a happy and eventful Halloween tomorrow!