For us expats in foreign counties, holidays can seem both less important and more important at the same time. Less important, because the majority of people around you aren’t aware it’s a special day for you; and more important, as it can feel a bit lonely not being with family, especially when you imagine them gathering and enjoying {and not at work!}.

One of my good friends here was nice enough to organize a thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant {no one has the space to cook or host a giant meal} for 25 of her closest friends. Since she knows me and my crazy event ways, I told her I was thinking about some kind of place setting or favor to add to the table and she was totally on board. She came up with the idea of toasting pumpkin seeds, and was even able to source them {at one of the international markets}. So yesterday I went around gathering ingredients {and a few crafting supplies} and tried my hand at toasting seeds on a stove top. {Oh yeah, no oven at my place. But that is for another post.}

Hong Kong is a big city, like New York, where you can find anything and everything– you just need to know where to find it. Well, in my 1.5 weeks back, I don’t have it all down yet, but I still think I did pretty well!

I just made up a recipe, so I’ll just talk you through it a bit. 

Step One: I melted some butter a little brown sugar in the microwave, then added the pumpkin seeds and ensured they were fully covered.

Step Two: I heavily sprinkled the seeds with a spice mix {this one had coriander, cinnamon, ginger, mustard, nutmeg, fennel, cloves and cardamom}

Step Three: I put the seeds in a hot pan and let them get nice and toasty {the first time I put a bit of butter in the pan too. Those seeds got a bit fried, which is also tasty.}

Step Four: When they got nice and toasty, I put them in a {clean} bowl and added another sprinkle of of the spice mix.

Step Five: Once they cooled down {a few hours} I used a tea strainer to grab the right amount of seeds {for me about 2.5 scoops} for individual portions.

Step Six: I wrapped the plastic into little dumpling shapes and tied them up— like so. 

Pretty easy, right?

Sorry to tell you, this isn’t the entirely completed project. I also have little tags to add, but you’ll have to wait for an entire Hong Kong Thanksgiving re-cap to see these guys in action. Until tomorrow— and safe travels!

P.S. My camera is still in transit, so please forgive my iphone pictures!