“Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire…”

Oh my!  These lyrics are heart tugging as well-known words of The Christmas Song. The lyrics and music were written way back in 1946. Finally! Something that was around before me! Nat King Cole put the words in sync with his melodic voice and a traditional Christmas ballad was born. Such imagery comes to mind when anyone hears that seasonal song. Now what the heck does this have to do with late October and food? Hmmm, I began to wonder myself! Well, here is the story. Very recently, I mean very, I was craving a snack. I was moderately hungry and hadn’t made a ‘meal’ which could be a story in itself. There was one solitary glass of wine calling me in the refrigerator. Looking about my kitchen I could not help but lament the pumpkin I was yet to cut, scoop clean, bake, and freeze for future pies and muffins. I would get to it. Suddenly I was really craving roasted pumpkin seeds. A distant memory of tossing a small bag of pumpkin seeds into my shopping cart found me scourging in cupboards and drawers. I found them! In my baking cupboard, tucked between a bag of dried cranberries and a bag, well, half-bag of chocolate chips (Some day I will catch that chocolate chip thief.) there sat a 5-ounce bag of pumpkin seeds.  Looking very white and very bland I knew I could dress them up. So into a large bowl they went. I added 2 teaspoons olive oil, a dash of pepper, and equal amounts of onion, celery seed, and garlic powder. I shook them together and thought it still looked a bit boring. To remediate this I tossed in about one-fourth cup of raw almonds. I shook the bowl again and spread them on my silicone-baking sheet and popped it into a 400-degree oven. They baked away for four minutes. I tossed them around and baked them another three minutes. Once the tray was out of the oven I poured my wine and filled a small bowl with the seeds and nuts. Yes, I weighed the snack.  It is a compulsion I have to weigh things I eat. The serving was 3 ½ ounces and several servings were left on the baking sheet. I took my small bowl that was brimming with the snack (A small bowl that is filled is more satisfying than a large bowl that is half-empty.) and my wine and sat down to cruise the cable channels. Wow! The snack was warm in my hand. It was fragrant. It was delicious. The warmth that emanated from the small bowl warmed me and seemed to be more satisfying than I remembered pumpkin seeds being. My warm snack of pumpkin seeds were honestly more satisfying than cold, roasted, pumpkin seeds I had eaten in the past. So the next time you are crooning to ‘chestnuts roasting on an open fire’ remember roasted and warm pumpkin seeds are memorable too!