Autumn is about to become winter, at least for people living on the north half of our planet. So what do we do with all those leftover pumpkins? The good news is, you can roast the seeds. Rinse them under running water, then once they’re dry, spread the seeds on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake them for 15 minutes, then sprinkle them with salt, or sugar and cinnamon, or chili powder and a squirt of lime – any flavor you like! Now you just have to eat the rest of that 80-pound pumpkin.
Wee ones: If you sprinkle a pumpkin seed with salt, then the next with sugar, then the 3rd with cinnamon, then start over with salt, then sugar, then cinnamon, then salt…what’s next?
Little kids: If you scoop out 8 slippery pumpkin seeds but 3 of them squirt onto the floor, how many are left in your hand? Bonus: If you have 3 big pumpkins and each one has 200 seeds inside, how many seeds do you have for roasting?
Big kids: If you start roasting your seeds at 3:20 for 15 minutes, at what time do they finish? Bonus: If you want to roast 300 seeds and every pumpkin has 80 seeds, at least how many pumpkins will you need to scoop enough seeds?
Answers:
Wee ones: Sugar.
Little kids: 5 seeds. Bonus: 600 seeds.
Big kids: At 3:35. Bonus: 4 pumpkins, since the first 3 will give you only 240 seeds.
