Sexy Vegan Mama: Whatcha Gonna Do With All That Junk, All That Junk Inside That Pumpkin? Four Different Pumpkin Seed Recipes to Try

The Gonzos carved pumpkins this year for the first time in ages. There were a whole lot of pumpkins goin' on at our place, and that meant a whole lot of pumpkin seeds.

A whole lotta pumpkin seeds

I seem to remember my mom salting and roasting pumpkin seeds when I was a kid, but I pretty much shun salt, unless it's crucial to a recipe. I wanted to do something... different. After an online search, I'd found about a thousand ways to make tamari pumpkin seeds, but all the recipes seemed boring.

You know, The Gonzo Mama is not into boring food.

I ended up making four different flavors of roasted pumpkin seeds, and they all turned out so yummy, the kids want to gut more pumpkins so I can make more. The procedure is the same for all four.

Garlic-Ginger "Tamari" Pumpkin Seeds


Seeds from a pumpkin or two
Enough Bragg's Liquid Aminos* to coat seeds
Garlic powder to taste
Ground ginger to taste


*Note: for all these recipes, I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos, which is a natural, gluten-free alternative to soy sauce, tamari or shoyu. I imagine you can use soy sauce, tamari or shoyu, but I don't know how that will affect cooking times, if at all.


Blend all ingredients well before putting seeds in to marinate.




Curry-Nutmeg "Tamari" Pumpkin Seeds

Seeds from a pumpkin or two

Enough Bragg's Liquid Aminos* to coat seeds

Curry powder to taste (I used the Aunt Rhoda's curry blend from my local natural foods store, but you can use your favorite) 

Ground nutmeg to taste

Blend all ingredients well before putting seeds in to marinate.

Wasabi-"Tamari" Pumpkin Seeds

Seeds from a pumpkin or two

Enough Bragg's Liquid Aminos* to coat seeds

Wasabi powder to taste 

Blend all ingredients well before putting seeds in to marinate.

BBQ Pumpkin Seeds**

Seeds from a pumpkin or two

Enough Bragg's Liquid Aminos* to coat seeds

A teaspoon or more of thick vegan BBQ sauce

Blend all ingredients well before putting seeds in to marinate.

**Note: This particular recipe is very prone to burning. Keep a close eye on it while in the frying pan and oven!

Put the pumpkin seeds in a colander and rinse them, rubbing them between the palms of your hands to remove the little strings of pumpkin funk. As you go, toss the clean seeds onto a plate covered with a paper towel or tea towel to drain.

The eco-Nazis are going to kill me for using paper towels, aren't they?

Use one of the recipes above to make a "marinade" for the seeds in a bowl, and dump the seeds in, making sure each seed gets covered.

Make sure no one gets left out... Everyone needs a good coat!

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

In a wok or large frying pan, heat a small amount of oil (I used sesame oil, but any cooking oil will work) over medium heat.

Use a fork or slotted spoon to remove seeds from marinade (you want the seeds, not the liquid) and drop them into the heated oil. You'll want to keep the seeds moving so they don't burn. You'll know they're done when they start to puff up and look bloated, sort of like The Gonzo Mama after a soy ice cream binge.

They're starting to bloat like fat little Gonzo Mamas stuffed with soy ice cream.

Carefully remove the seeds from the oil and spread them out on a baking sheet. Put the sheet in the oven and roast the seeds for 10-12 minutes. The time will vary, depending on what you coat the seeds with, so keep your nose alert for the aroma of smoke and check on the seeds often!

Allow the seeds to cool (if you can wait!) and enjoy.

Oh, and may I also insist tossing a handful of these tasty things on top of your salad? Crunchy, spicy goodness!

Vegan Double Chocolate Chai Cake (Recipe)

I've had many requests for my prized vegan cake recipes from fellow vegans - and from friends who are looking for cholesterol-free desserts. Did you check your calendar today? Because today's the day I'm going to give away my top-secret recipe for my never-fail Vegan Double Chocolate Chai Cake!

This recipe makes one tall, decadent 8-9" round:

1 2/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. packed brown sugar or evaporated cane juice crystals
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. loose chai tea
1 c. water
1/3 c. olive or canola oil
1 t. apple cider vinegar
1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. dairy-free chocolate chips (Did you know Kroger Value Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips are dairy-free and amazingly cheap? I get them at Fred Meyer!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix. Add wet ingredients and beat on high with mixer for 2 minutes or beat 150 strokes by hand.

Pour into greased 8-9" round cake pan. (Note: I cut a circle of wax paper and place it in the bottom of the pan to help it come out of the pan easily. I highly recommend you do so, too. This recipe doesn't have any eggs to bind it, so the wax paper helps the bottom of the cake stay together when it's warm.) Sprinkle chocolate chips over top of batter before placing in oven.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack. Wait another 15 minutes, then turn right-side up onto a pretty plate.

This sweet cake needs no frosting, but you may dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Photo: Snugglebug and Curlytop love helping make this cake. They ALMOST get as many chocolate chips on the cake as they do in their mouths!

I Hope Jesus has a Sense of Humor

When GirlWonder's fifth-grade teacher informed us that our darling was an excellent student but had a habit of "blurting" out of turn, I wasn't surprised. In fact, I am pretty sure where she gets it.

I harnessed my dubious talents of blurting and having a general lack of decorum at a very young age. In fact, I skipped the third grade due to said talent. "I can't have her in my classroom another day," an exasperated Mrs. P complained to the principal and my mother. "She talks out of turn, blurting out answers. True, they're correct answers, but... I just think perhaps she isn't challenged enough."

Two weeks later, in Mrs. I's fourth-grade classroom, I spent recess inside, listening to her chastise me for correcting her in front of the class. "Perhaps you are, indeed, very familiar with Roman numerals. Perhaps the example that I posted on the board was, in fact, incorrect. However, in the future, you will call it to my attention privately, and not blurt it out in front of the entire class."

Well, sheesh. I was only looking out for the best interests of my fellow students. I mean, what kind of an education could they be expected to receive if I couldn't correct the errors of our teacher?

My high school English teacher actually removed me from the classroom for the duration of my senior year. "I feel that perhaps my class isn't challenging you enough," he sighed. "Perhaps you would benefit from an honors class of sorts... Go write a book. Check in with me at the end of the year." He didn't fool me. He just wanted to remove my loudly-stated ideas from the classroom.

In college, a radical feminist professor threatened to fail me after I suggested - out loud, of course, and at the most improper time - that perhaps, as women, we might get our point across in a more diplomatic manner than shoving our demands down the throats of the entire male population.

True, these individuals held the keys to my educational success in their chalk-dusted hands, but it never really occurred to me to be afraid of ruffling feathers with my lack of propriety.

Jesus, though, is another matter. He holds my very salvation (along with "the whole world") in His hands.

Does Jesus make a note on my report card when I ask, in the middle of a sermon, if the land of milk and honey allows vegans? I'm seriously concerned about this. I mean, the Bible makes it sound like it's all that, but really? Milk and honey? Could it be any more un-vegan? What if I get to the land of milk and honey and find there is, in fact, no soy milk and no stevia? What am I going to do then?

And communion! I've screwed up communion so many times, I can't quite believe that it's not going on my permanent record. Sometimes, when my church forgets to order communion wafers, they substitute butter crackers or shortbread. On more than one occasion, I've piously placed the sacrament in my mouth, only to spit it out when I realized I just put a morsel of butter or egg-filled cookie in my mouth.

"What do I do?" I've asked my pastor. "I spit out the body of Christ! That can't be good, right? I mean, I'm a vegan on principle, and I don't think Jesus wants me to compromise my principles, but He can't be too impressed with me spitting out His body, right?"

I mean, really, what WOULD Jesus do?

Or, more appropriately, what would a vegan Jesus do? "The bread I'll multiply... But the fish? Really kid? Do you have any tempeh? Tofu?"