Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

For all recipes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Separate the pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin gunk, rinse them well, cover with flavoring, and spread them out on a tin foil covered cookie sheet (in a single layer). Cook for about 15 minutes until slightly brown. Enjoy your seedy snack, it will be a good break from the candy!

Mix 2 cups pumpkin seeds with ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 teaspoon salt.

Mix 2 cups pumpkin seeds with 2 tablespoons of oil. Mix in one small packet of ranch flavored powdered dressing mix.

In a small bowl, melt a small amount of butter. Add Dijon mustard and a splash of teriyaki sauce. Mix to taste. Then, mix in the seeds, covering evenly.

Whisk 1 tablespoon egg white in a small bowl until soft and foamy. Add ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and add two cups pumpkin seeds.

Hope you like these recipes. If you come up with your own pumpkin seed flavor concoction, let us know so we can try it too!

Moo-Cow helps with the cooking while trying out his, Count Spatula: The Vampire Chef, costume.

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Eating in China is soooooo much fun! You just walk around the street and there are people with little carts set up, or in tiny storefront shops, selling delicious dumplings, soups, buns, and my new favorite—spring onion pancakes! The only way these are anything like a pancake is they're flat. Other than that they are more like a yummy, savory, fried dough (I definitely wouldn't recommend them for breakfast). In China, they only cost us about ten cents each, and I got one fresh from the cooker. It was so hot it burned my hands, but it was worth it!

I really wanted to learn how to make these so I got Moo-Cow's expert cooking help. It turns out that they are simple to make with just a few basic ingredients! Here's our recipe. I hope you find them as delicious as we do!

1. Mix the flour, oil, hot water and a dash of salt together in a bowl until crumbly.

2. Add the cold water while gradually working it into the dough. Mix until you have an sticky dough with even consistency. You don't have to use your hands like Moo-Cow, but if you do be sure to flour them to help keep the dough from sticking.

3. Cover the dough and let it sit for 30 minutes.

4. While you wait for your dough, cut your spring onions (aka Scallions) into litte round slices. Don't be afraid to cut the onion all the way down to the end, it's all good!

5. Spread out a piece of wax paper and dust it with flour. Rip off a hunk of dough and flatten it out into a thin circle.

6. Sprinkle your flattened dough with the chopped spring onions.

7. Roll your spring onions up in the dough.

8. Squish your roll back into a flat pancake! Make sure you flatten it pretty well so it cooks properly.

9. Add some oil to your pan and get it good and hot. Fry your spring onion pancakes until they are golden and crispy on both sides.

10. Eat them while they're hot (but not too hot)!

Also, you can follow Moo-Cow's lead and make a simple dipping sauce. He made his with 2 parts soy sauce, 1 part rice vinegar, some garlic slices and a sprinkle of chopped spring onions. Mmmm, soooo good!

F.W.'s Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes!

I can't stop thinking about F.W.'s chocolate chip oatmeal pancakes. They sound yummy. Can I have the recipe? Thank you!

-Melissa H. Via e-mail

Okay Melissa, it wasn't easy, but we managed to get the recipe for you. We didn't have problems because F.W. was trying to hide the secret family recipe or anything, but because he didn't have the recipe! It turns out that this is a recipe his mom taught him and he's always just remembered it, but he remembered it as a pinch of this, a dash of that, and paw full of the other thing. He had no real measurements at all! So we sent F.W. into the MCFC test kitchens, with our master chef Moo-Cow, to work out a recipe everyone could follow. It took a lot of batches of delicious pancakes to get it right, but they finally got it down to a written recipe F.W. is happy with. Here is the outcome and we have to admit, they really are delicious!

These are the pancakes my mom always made me back when I lived in Australia. They are my favorite and are now a favorite of my friends in the MCFC gang! I hope you lke them too. Enjoy! -F.W.

You'll Need:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup melted butter (or 3 tablespoons of olive oil)
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Cooking Instructions:

1. Whisk all dry ingredients, except for chocolate chips, together in a bowl.

2. Whisk all wet ingredients together in another bowl.

3. Whisk dry ingredient mixture into wet mixture until just blended.

4. Fold chocolate chips into batter (have a few for yourself while you do this).

5. Heat skillet over medium heat and melt a thin layer of butter to coat bottom.

6. Add some pancake batter to pan (whatever size you prefer, Moo-Cow makes them big). Cook batter until bubbles form on the top and the bottoms are golden brown. Flip the pancake and cook other side until it is also golden brown.

7. Remove from pan and top with preferred pancake topping. Try not to eat too many, they're filling!

Chef's Notes:

These pancakes are not as airy as some. They have a bit more of a soft custardy center, so don't be tricked into thinking you undercooked them. They are good enough to eat without syrup if you want to cut out some sugar. Moo-Cow's also given an olive oil alternative to the butter if you would like to cut down on fat. I think they taste just as good with olive oil, as do most things that butter is normally used in. Here is a butter to olive oil conversion chart you can use in your cooking. Give it a try sometime.

Butter to Olive Oil Conversion Chart

• 1 teaspoon (butter) = 3/4 teaspoon (olive oil)
• 1 tablespoon = 2-1/4 teaspoon
• 1/4 cup = 3 tablespoons
• 1/3 cup = 1/4 cup
• 1/2 cup = 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
• 1 cup = 3/4 cup

Also, all pancakes taste better when they are cut to look like flowers
(it is scientifically proven). Here Moo-Cow demonstrates his method for
pancake flowers.

Stack your pancakes and cut a circle in the center going through all of them. Then create the flower petals by cutting in wedge shapes out from the center all the way around stack

Then top with your favorite nectar and eat!

See the article that spawned this question and recipe in Dinosaur Print Edition.

Bug Juice

Thirsty? Try our famous bug juice! Quench your thirst and gross out your friends. Bug juice is easy to make and delicious to drink! 

You'll Need:

Directions:

1.Blend the strawberries and thawed lemonade together in the blender until smooth but thick.

2. Add the ginger ale and stir.

3.Pour the juice into cups, and plop a few raisins in to give it that bug infested look.

Your bug juice will look so gross you might even trick Kiweenie into taking a sip!

Anzac Biscuits

One of the most important holidays in Australia is ANZAC day, celebrated on April 25. ANZAC stands for Australian New Zealand Army Corps, and the day celebrates the brave deeds of the men who fought in World War I. There are huge celebrations held every year, and many people celebrate by making ANZAC biscuits (cookies). These cookies were created during the war when people would send them in care packages to the soldiers. You can make a batch of these anytime of the year, but make sure to bake a batch to celebrate ANZAC day!

You'll need:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup dried coconut
• 2 tbsp boiling water
• 4 oz butter
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp golden syrup (or dark corn syrup)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine oats, coconut, flour, and sugar in a medium-sized bowl. In a saucepan, add the butter and syrup and stir over low heat until the butter melts. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the saucepan. Pour the contents of the saucepan into the flour mixture and stir with a spoon until it is solid dough. Drop small balls of the dough onto a lightly greased pan and flatten with your hand, but allow the cookies room to spread. Bake the cookies for 20 minutes or until they are golden brown. Enjoy!