I practice a policy of gastronomic laissez-faire and say “Live and let live, but if you hunger for a critter, try to get one that has been raised and killed humanely”. If possible get it from the source and don’t waste any part of it. Thank it’s soul for giving itself so that I may eat, et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseum.
I was once very irritated by a smug, holier-than-thou vegetarian who said, “I don’t eat anything that has a face” and I know of certain carnivores (who shall remain nameless) who won’t eat an animal which has a name, eg Bossy the Cow or Chicken Little. Well, even my vegetables have names and faces. Enter Sam and Petunia, our Jack-o’-Lanterns. They both have both names and faces and are both going to be eaten.
Sam & Petunia
Sourced from Michael Howard’s deli, just across the street from us; all of their meat and vegetables can be traced to the farm it came from.
Sam and Petunia had a happy, free range life in their pumpkin patch . . . . .
and fulfilled their duty as Jack-o’-Lanterns, sitting at the top of our stairs and welcoming our dinner party guests.
I started with the offal and made toasted pumpkin seeds for hors d’oeuvre at our Samhain Feast on Saturday.
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Olive oil
- Sea salt
- Soy sauce and chili powder, or freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to about 350° F/180°C. Toss the seeds with olive oil and salt. Sprinkle with either soy sauce and chili powder or toss with Parmesan cheese. Spread on a cookie sheet and roast for about a half hour, tossing about every 1o minutes.
Tonight I made pureed pumpkin which I’ll freeze and use for soup. pumpkin cheesecake and our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. Sorry Linus!
