Etceteras

And finally, some of the food-stragglers of the party:

Since I still had pumpkin seeds left over from back when I whipped up that cilantro and pumpkin seed pesto, I figured why the hell not toast some pumpkin seeds, seeing as pumpkins = halloween and whatnot.

So that's what I did.

For one half of them, I used the Spicy Pumpkin Seed recipe from The Complete Vegan Cookbook--these were really quite tasty (even though I'm not a big fan of pumpkin seeds) with a bit of zip to them but not too much. They're flavored with spices the likes of cumin and chili powder.

For the other half, I decided to whip up a sweeter batch of pumpkin seeds. These also weren't too bad.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 T. canola oil


• 2 c. raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds


• 2 t. cinnamon


• 1/2 t. nutmeg


• 1/4 t. ground cloves


• 4 T. sugar

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large skillet. Toss in your seasonings (everything except the sugar) and let cook for about 30 seconds. Toss in your pumpkin seeds and stir until coated in seasonings. Let toast, stirring occasionally, until they've begun to make popping noises and turn a golden brown. Remove from stove and put in a bowl with a lid. Add the sugar. Put lid on. Shake bowl until sugar is distributed amongst the pumpkin seeds. Nibble away.

The best part of the pumpkin seed roasting is that it leaves your house smelling earthy and autumnal. Good stuff.

The final item that I whipped up for the party I forgot to take pictures of, but it wasn't too remarkable anyways, so perhaps it worked out ok. And that was Not Pigs in a Blanket. I was inspired by the recipe in Garden of Vegan, but at this point, I was feeling wicked lazy after having spent time whipping all the other goodies up. So instead of making my own biscuity material to wrap the wienies in, I just went out and bought the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls that the VegCooking Shopping Guide has listed as vegan and used those instead. For the wienies, I bought a 12-pack of vegan hotdogs. And then what I did was cut them each into thirds and nab a bit of Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough to wrap around each one. I then baked them for about 10 minutes, I believe, at about 375. They were a bit doughier than I would've liked, but they were definitely browned, so I had no other choice than to remove them. I wasn't too bowled over by them (perhaps it was just the brand of hot dogs, or the fact that vegan hotdogs don't always cook up best in the oven), but every single one had vanished within the hour, so maybe it was just me.

Oh, and of course I threw together a batch of the infamous Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies from Vegan with a Vengeance as not everyone at the party had been lucky enough to have tried them before. And as always, they were a hit.

I'm telling you--they are like Love Potion #9 in the world of vegan goodies.

So please, dear god, if you haven't run out and whipped them up yet, do so. Get laid. Have fun. Eat cookies! HURRAH!