by John YoungPumpkins are indigenous to the Americas, and were unknown to our European forebears who originated the customs of Samhain, which we celebrate today as Halloween. Nevertheless, pumpkins (and especially carved pumpkins) have now become an integral part of our celebration of this combined celebration of harvest and festival of the dead.Every year, quite apart from the other festivities of the season, I look forward to accumulating pumpkin seeds that are left over from carving Jack-o-Lanterns. It turns out that pumpkin seeds are not only delicious — but carry a treasure trove of health benefits as well. Some of these health benefits include lowering LDL cholesterol, lowering cancer risk, lowering risk of kidney stones, improvement of prostate and bladder function, and combating depression. All of this (and much more) without a prescription or permission of big daddy government!So here is how I prepare and save pumpkin seeds …First, I scoop them out of the pumpkin in giant handfuls and put them in a large bowl. I keep doing this for all the pumpkins I’m carving until I have all the seeds.Pumpkin seeds are connected with a thin membrane that serves to sustain them inside the pumpkin. I remove most of this by rubbing them in small batches between pieces of paper towel. Then I mix them with water in a seal-able quart jar, shake them up, and separate them from the remaining membrane. I dry them off again with paper towel and put them in a large bowl. Then, I preheat my oven to 350F.While the oven is pre-heating, I get some cookie sheets ready, and drizzle just a bit of safflower oil onto the pumpkin seeds, mixing thoroughly with my hands. I also sprinkle with just a little bit of salt, then spread the seeds out on the cookie sheets and pop them into the oven.After 10 minutes in the oven, I take out the sheets and flip the seeds using a big spatula, and put them back in for another 5-7 minutes.After that, the pumpkin seeds are done and ready for eating.Unfortunately, they don’t keep very well in open air, so here is how I preserve them.Leaving the oven on, I take the pumpkin seeds and put them into clean pint jars (without lids), and put the jars in the oven on the cookie sheets for 10 minutes. While those are heating up, I boil some canning lids. Then I take the jars out of the oven, install the sterilized lids by tightening down the bands, and let the jars sit until they’ve cooled down. (A couple of hours.)Once the jars have cooled down, I store them in the refrigerator for up to 6 months and the freezer for up to a year. This way I always have access to a deliciously nutritious snack of which even my primary care physician would approve.