Toasted pumpkin seeds can be plain or spicy | Black Watermelon Seeds

This unintentional pairing might go down as my most swoonworthy of 2018. A crunchy, sugary, cinnamon-spiced, deep-fried croissant washed down with smooth, jammy cabernet sauvignon from the rink-side snack bar (as in: full bar, with snacks) operated by Sweet Coloradough of Glenwood Springs.

Wendy Ouriel, the founder of the organic beauty brand Oumere, developed her first product while studying black widow spiders.

I have a bag that I was going to toss in the green bin as they are outdated by years. They’ve been in a dry place. Can I use the raw split peas as bird food or would you not recommend it?

“They’re relatively low in calories, too – about 160 calories per 1-ounce portion, or essentially a palmful,” says Shank, who recommends munching on them straight out of the oven, too.

Using a 5-foot tape, Gary Baldwin measures his pumpkin that he estimates weighs about 1,000 pounds in the yard of his Everett home on Sept. 11. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

The Crepe Shack by Mawa’s Kitchen, on the ice skating rink-side of the new D& E/Four Mountain Sports shop, was literally oozing visitors. When I stopped by, at least a dozen people were sardined into the space—befitting the "shack" moniker at just 295 square feet. A crew of five, including chef-owner Mawa McQueen herself, was busy building crepes still steaming from the hot griddles. McQueen says she served more than 600 crepes that day—no wonder the cooks were almost too worn out to tell me how it went when I returned a few days later.

For her master’s dissertation at California State University, Fullerton, Ouriel, now 31, researched ovarian development in the black widow spider, and it was there, alone in the electron microscope lab waiting for her specimens to lay eggs, that she started developing what, after two-and-a-half years of tinkering, became her No. 9 exfoliator, which uses lactic and other acids to dissolve corneodesmosome, the biological glue that holds dead skin cells together. This was after experiencing her own skin troubles. Until she was 25, Ouriel had never used so much as a facial cleanser. When she did invest in a few professional products, they gave her acne, so then she bought some anti-acne products, which only made things worse. “It was the skin care — essential oils, which break down a cell’s plasma membrane, and scrubs and microdermabrasion, which create lacerations on the skin’s surface — that were weakening my skin and making it more susceptible to bacterial and fungal pathogens,” she says.

“If that doesn’t pass, there won’t be a pumpkin farm,” Eda Muller told critics at a recent city council meeting, muttering under her breath, “Put that in your pipe and smoke it.”

Darrel Daniels, a Wisconsin Syngenta sales representative, (from left) Jay Schumitsch of Schumitsch Seed Inc. and Pat Prasalowicz, a crop specialist for Insight FS, overlook an experimental oat field with plant growth regulator applied.(Photo: Courtesy of Travis Dewitz)

Most of the edible seeds are power houses of antioxidants, fibre, omega 3 fatty acid and vitamins. With its distinctive textures and flavours, these seeds add a special crunch and taste to dishes. Here are some of the edible seeds which have become popular.

It starts with bread service, a simple slice or two served with a different dip or spread every visit: Perhaps olive oil laced with herbs and duck fat, salty whipped feta, smoky salmon mousse or a sweetly lush quenelle of silky pureed chicken liver.

Taylor Swift’s backstage demands are straight-up adorable. If she’s arriving before 11 a.m., Taylor requests two Starbucks beverages– one grande iced Americano and one grande iced caramel latte (both with Sweet’n Low).