It's been a while, but I have been hibernating a bit

I want to start with an apology... I know that I haven't posted much this month, but transitioning into fall always wears me out. It's the season of the harvest, so there is a lot of work to be done getting my homestead and myself ready for the winter. The days are shorter and darker, so I am more tired more often. And still working full time at a job that I love so much is a huge blessing, but it also means that I have to pay extra-special attention to myself to make sure that I am maintaining my balance and not overdoing it.

Life after a brain injury is tough! Fatigue is a very real thing, and then when you factor in all that fall stuff that I mentioned, it's hard not to want to crawl back into bed. (Just another 20 minutes, please...?)

But this week, I decided that I need to rethink all that. It's almost November, which is my birthday month! I am turning... well, older this year. But I don't FEEL older, aside from being more tired. Maybe just wiser?

So to start off with all that, I decided to start baking the bread that Alex and I eat rather than buying it from the store. Dempsters ain't got NOTHIN' on my homemade sourdough! And I wanted to share the outcome of today's sourdough adventure, which was actually not the loaf at all, but the roasted pumpkin seeds that we got out of it.

See, the loaf has roasted pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves. But after I took apart the pumpkin so that I could roast it, I had so many seeds left that I knew I had to make one of my favourite snacks... roasted pumpkin seeds!

I don't worry too much about cleaning every last bit of the pumpkin goop off the seeds before I roast them because it's just pumpkin so it's perfectly edible and tastes pretty good! Today's batch was tossed with sea salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and a wee bit of Cajun spice. Add a really great olive oil and roast at 400 F, stirring every 5 or so minutes, until they become crispy and delicious. Use as a high-protein snack or super yum salad topper.

I make these so many different flavours, but I think that this one is my favourite...

V's Amazin' Cajun Roasted Pumpkin Seeds:

• The seeds out of a suger or pie pumpkin

• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 tbsp. Cajun spice

• 1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

• Sea salt and black pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 400 F

2. Wash the pumpkin seeds really well to get the guts from the pumpkin off, then pat with a paper towel so that they are mostly dry

3. Toss the pumpkin seeds with sea salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and a wee bit of Cajun spice

4. Drizzle with a really great olive oil and toss to coat. Spread the pumpkin seeds out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet

5. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring around every 5 minutes to make sure that nothing burns. Start taste testing after about 10 minutes to get them to your preferred doneness

6. Let cool, then store in a glass jar (repurposed, of course!)

Roasted pumpkin seeds are rich in nutrients like protein, fibre, healthy fats, and minerals like magnesium and zinc, offering benefits for heart health, blood sugar control, and digestive health. They also contain antioxidants that protect cells from damage and may improve sleep and mood due to their tryptophan and magnesium content.