Seed Mania: Home Roasted Sunflower Seeds

I've started to feel like a furry little mouse preparing for the winter with all the seeds we've been roasting and noshing on around here. Maybe I was a little brown mouse in a former life.

My friend Melody was so kind to give us one of the mammoth sunflower seed heads she grew last summer. Seeds have already been set aside to grow some ourselves next year. I think the flower head ripe with seeds is beautiful in itself, don't you?

Things were crazy busy these past few month with starting work, mofo, and both kids starting school. Finally some time to soak and roast these!

Roasted Sunflower Seeds

3 cups of sunflower seeds
canola spray
salted water for soaking (1/2 cup salt per quart of water)

First you need to allow the seeds to properly dry out. I left ours out for a few weeks, to be sure they would be sufficiently dried out. They come out of the seed head much easier too.

Next I soaked them in salt water for 48 hours. I used 1/2 cup salt for a quart of water. The soaking for a longer period make the shells softer and easier to eat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly spray a baking sheet. Roast in oven for 25-30 minutes.

Place them into an air tight container to enjoy for some time. Please note soaking them in the salt sufficiently flavors them and there is no need to salt again before roasting.