start to finish

Did you save your seeds? They're delicious, you know...
After carving a couple of jack-o-lanterns, we fished out the seeds, rinsed them in a colander and laid them out to dry a bit overnight.
Then I, crazy woman that I must be, stood over the sink, shelling the little seeds. Which isn't strictly necessary, but oddly meditative - much like shelling peas or snapping beans. And, really, those tough hulls are for the birds (literally), I think. All nutritive aspects aside - they are t-o-u-g-h and I prefer my pepitas without.
After drying out they can be stored in a jar in the cabinet for quite a while. Of course one could toast them and top a salad, yogurt, cereal, etc. or even grind them into a sauce (an enchilada sauce would be perfect) or simply pop a few here and there for a nice little nibble...