Old-Fashioned Spice Cake with Cranberries and Macadamia Nuts

 Old-Fashioned Spice Cake with Cranberries and Macadamia Nuts

• Section A:
• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• Section B
• 1/3 cup salted butter, warm and fully melted
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup neutral oil
• 3 eggs
• 2/3 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pre-heat convection oven to 325F. Grease up an 8x8 pan.

Whisk together dry ingredients (A). Combine and blend smooth section B.

Mix together A and B until it just comes together in a homogenous fashion.

Pour into the pan and bang that fucker in the oven for 40 minutes.

 The Mother Sauce

J&K’s everything sweet BBQ Sauce

for pork and chicken

1 cup ketchup

1 cup apple juice

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

½ molasses

¼ cup honey

1 tsp garlic powder

¾ cup brown sugar

½ tsp salt

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp dry mustard

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp Tabasco or similar

Heat in pot long enough to liquify the sugar until smooth, stirring with whisk.

Qorma Lawand (-ish, sorta)

I felt like doing a thing with grilled tandoori-ish chicken, with a butter chicken-ish sauce, but, well, not. The new twist here was incorporating ground almonds and chickpeas into the yogurt sauce for a thicker, protein-rich consistency.

First: A BOWL.

Into said bowl goes: 1/4 cup each of olive oil and lemon juice, and 2 tsp each of paprika, cumin, chili flakes, ginger, turmeric, allspice, siracha chili sauce, salt, and garlic. Also 1 tsp each of allspice and cardamon. You will stir up this mess and toss it with skinless chicken.

LIKE THAT. Set that aside, preferably for a few hours. Covered. In the fridge - you're not an animal.

ONIONS. You have a steamer, right? I'll pretend you said "yes" and I'll go ahead with this pointless photo.

You will steam those fellas until they are translucent and nearly falling apart. Meanwhile, toast some whole almonds in a hot pan to, y'know, toast them. It makes them yummier or something. Combine in a food processor with three cloves of garlic, a small tin of tomato paste, a handful of cooked chickpeas (really, I have no idea how many I used - maybe 1/3 of a cup or so), and some of the water left over from the onions.

LIKE THIS

Except you also process the almonds. I just thought it looked nice like that.

Now, get a big pan out. Like, a deep one or a dutch oven or whatever. Warm it up, toss in some olive oil, and then a second batch of spices. Like-

-THAT. Amazing. Fenugreek, more chili flakes, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, garam masala, curry power, salt, pretty much the whole spice cupboard goes in there. More garlic? Sure. I don't even remember. Stir that up in the hot oil until the spices smell nice, then add about two cups of plain yogurt, a cup of chicken stock, and the processed goop from your food processor. Add another dash of lemon juice, hot sauce, or whatever you like. Combine and keep on very low heat. Remember your chicken you've been saving?

YES. Grill it hot enough to char a bit (I also grilled some Spanish onions while I was at it), and when they're done-ish (underdone is fine), bring them inside and toss them into your dutch oven full of sauce.

Cover, simmer for a while. Until the chicken is, y'know, done.

Curried Sweet Potato and Yogurt Soup

Winter is upon us, but that means fantastic warming soups such as this.  Casually slam down this fantastic soup that you easily prepared, and don't forget the it-was-nothing-don't-mention-it attitude.

You can, of course, prepare the body of the soup ahead of time, reheat, and garnish to order at the last minute.

I can only assume serving a stuffed pork roast immediately afterwards would blow minds.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large diced sweet onion

1 tsp curry powder

2 medium peeled, diced sweet potatoes

1 medium peeled, diced Idaho potatoes

4 cups reduced-fat chicken broth

2 cups plain yogurt

salt, to taste

dash of hot sauce, optional

chopped almonds, garnish

parsley, garnish

cracked pepper, garnish

In a large pot, heat the oil. Add onions and saute for 3-4 minutes until translucent.  Add the curry powder, and stir into the onions. Add sweet and Idaho potatoes and chicken broth; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer soup 25-30 minutes.

Puree soup (stick blender is best), whisk in the yogurt, and season with salt to taste.  Add hot sauce to taste, if you like.

Serve hot, garnish each bowl with chopped almonds, cracked pepper and a sprig of parsley as shown.

Doughnuts!

I'm not one of those Krispy Kreme freaks, seeing as in Canada the closest we get to that is boxed versions in grocery stores...which likely are horrible compared to the real thing, so I ignore them. However, these? Hot and fresh from the fryer and drizzled with some buttery vanilla sauce? Rediculous. I hit them with some cinnamon-sugar as well.


2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all-purpose flour

vegetable oil for frying (350F)

1/3 cup butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons hot water or as needed




Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.

In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.

Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up.

Stolen from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/crispy-and-creamy-doughnuts/detail.aspx

Pad Thai w. shrimp

Second try, got it right. Go me.

Ok, let's do this thing.

Soak your package of rice noodles in a large bowl of hot but not boiling water. After 10 minutes or so, check them now and then (nibble a piece) until it's "right". When they're ready to your liking, drain them and put them in a dry bowl to sit for later.

In a pot:

1/2 cup ketchup
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce (it smells like gym socks in the bottle but it's great in a sauce)
1 tbsp shrimp paste, from your local tiny asian grocery
1/4 cup (50 mL) lime juice
1 tsp chili flakes or hot sauce
2 tbsp (25 mL) vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup water

Put that on low heat to simmer, whisk it up until smooth, then prepare four small bowls, filled with...

chopped roasted peanuts, sliced green onions, shredded carrot, bean sprouts

Are the noodles ready yet? If so, get a wok smokin' hot on the stove, hit it with some oil, and toss a some shrimp in there. How much? A couple handfuls, make a decision already.

Once the shrimp are pink, toss in the carrots and bean sprouts, stir-fry that for a minute

Fire into the wok, your rice noodles, and then the sauce . Toss that all up, plate, dash some peanuts on there, a little more diced green onion, and a little cilantro if you have it. Go!

Coconut Thai Curry on Roasted Garam Masala Chicken

Amatriciana, sort of

A notable Italian / Roman dish that I twisted for my own dark purposes.  Meaning, I had some chicken breast to use up, and not so much the traditional pork cheek.  Also, made with no chiles...my mom is visiting and I didn't want a medical emergency on my hands.

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes   
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1 pound linguine pasta, uncooked
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese


Directions:

1.     Cook diced bacon in a large saucepan over medium high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of drippings from the pan.
2.     Add onions, and cook over medium heat about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes; cook 30 seconds. Add canned tomatoes, undrained; simmer 10 minutes, breaking up tomatoes.
3.     Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of 4 quarts boiling salted water until al dente. Drain.
4.     Stir basil into the sauce, and then toss with cooked pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Pork Ribs (Bone Dust dry rub)

Ingredients:

        1/2 cup paprika
        1/4 cup chili powder
        3 tablespoons salt
        2 tablespoons ground coriander
        2 tablespoons garlic powder
        2 tablespoons white sugar
        2 tablespoons curry powder
        2 tablespoons dry hot mustard
        1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
        1 tablespoon ground basil
        1 tablespoon ground thyme
        1 tablespoon ground cumin
        1 tablespoon cayenne

Combine, store in a big jar, slather on pork whenever you want to bring the flavor hammer.

In this case, rub into pork ribs, then wrap them up in foil, and set on a large pan that will contain leaks (melted fat).  Set your oven to 250C.  Three hours in there should do it.  Remove from oven, remove the foil, return the ribs to the oven for 30 minutes or so while you fire up your grill.  Brush your favorite sweet sauce on them, and set them (carefully!) on the grill long enough to get a bit of a char.

Hot and Sour Soup

Various recipies, various failures, finally I made a hot and sour soup I'm happy with.

Ingredients:

1 cake tofu (fresh, if possible)
2 ounces pork tenderloin

Marinade:

1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Other:

1/2 cup bamboo shoots
1 handful of dried Asian mushrooms
6 cups water
1 cup chicken stock
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
2 teaspoon granulated sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons red rice vinegar, white rice vinegar, or red wine vinegar
2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
1 egg, beaten
3 green onions, finely chopped

White pepper to taste
Hot chili oil, to taste


Hot and Sour Soup Directions:

Slice pork very thinly. Mix marinade ingredients and marinate pork for 20 minutes.

Cut tofu into small squares. Cut bamboo shoots into thin strips and then into fine slices. To reconstitute the mushrooms, soak in warm water for 20 minutes. Pick them out of the water, give them a good squeeze to remove fluid, and then chop finely. Return to the "mushroom water" and set this aside for now.

Bring the water to a boil. When it is boiling, add the bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and pork. Stir. Bring back to a boil and add the tofu.
Stir in the salt, sugar, soy sauce and vinegar and sesame oil.
Test the broth and adjust the taste if desired, using white pepper and chili oil to suit your heat level.

Mix the cornstarch and water. Slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the soup, stirring while it is being added. Let the broth come back to a boil. As soon as it is boiling, remove the broth from the stove.

Slowly drop in the beaten egg, stirring in one direction at the same time. Add the green onion and serve hot.

Pumpkin Soup with Rice

Karen is ill today, so she clapped her hands sharply and ordered soup(s).

2 lbs. roasted pumpkin flesh
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups 1% milk
3 tsp sugar
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp ground pepper

1 cup cooked white rice
pinch of ground cinnamon, to serve


Simplicity itself, put first six ingrediants in a pot, heat until just starting to boil, and puree' that stuff with a stock blender. Put a scoop of rice and a sprinkle of cinnamon in each bowl. Serve!

Grilling stuff

Forgive me. I have a brand new grill and I'm still just having way too much fun. Recipes and new stuff soon.

Maryland Crab Cakes

Thai Red Curry with Spiced Baked Chicken

I've been in love with Indian-style (ok, English-style pub curry) for so long I make it on auto-pilot at least once every few weeks. Thanks to http://foodporndaily.com/ I now get random urges for whatever happens to be there. One day mentioned red Thai curry and off I went. To my eternal shame I don't own shrimp paste (you likely don't either) and I wasn't about to take off for Somerset street in the middle of a blizzard. The vegetarian alternative is to use some soy sauce to at least replace the salty/savory that would be missing.
Ingredients:

* 2 large onions, chopped
* 1 stalk lemongrass, minced ( see instructions below) OR 2 Tbsp. frozen prepared lemongrass (available at Asian stores)
* 1-2 red chilies, OR 1/2 to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, OR 1-2 tsp. Thai chili sauce
* 4 cloves garlic
* 1 thumb-size piece ginger, sliced
* 2 Tbsp. tomato ketchup (OR 2 Tbsp. tomato paste + 1/2 tsp sugar) * 1 tsp. ground cumin
* 1 tsp. ground coriander
* 1 tsp. ground pepper
* 3 Tbsp. fish sauce (OR 4 Tbsp. soy sauce if vegetarian)
* 1-2 tsp. shrimp paste (omit if vegetarian)
* 1 Tbsp. sugar
* 2 Tbsp. regular chili powder
* 1/4 can good-quality coconut milk (or just enough to keep the blades turning), reserve remaining for the curry*
* 2 Tbsp. fresh-squeezed lime juice
* Optional: 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (OR add 1 cinnamon stick to your curry pot)

Preparation:

1. For complete instructions on how to buy and cook with lemongrass, see: All About Lemongrass: Your Guide to Buying, Preparing, and Cooking with Lemongrass.
2. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process well to create a fragrant Thai red curry paste. (Note that it will taste very strong at this point.) 3. To use immediately, fry the paste in a little oil to release flavors before adding your choice of meat, tofu, wheat gluten, or vegetables.
4. Add remaining can of coconut milk to create the curry sauce (*I cheated and added the whole can into the food processor, hence it's not very "red").
5. At this point, you're basically making a stew. I added two diced carrots and one diced green pepper. A chopped lemongrass, baby corn, bamboo shoots, thin strips of chicken, go nuts.
6. Serve with a mix of chopped cilantro and fresh basil.

The chicken? I tossed it with flour seasoned with curry powder, garam masala, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder. Baked it for an hour at 350C. Easy.

Lobster Bisque

What do you do when you're home, and suddenly four savage sea-beasts burst in through the living room wall? You turn them into soup. Whoohoo! Thanks so much to Catrina and Bill for providing said sea monsters. Now, before you start on this, understand this is the "long version" and it'll be a two-day recipe. Day one is lobster stock, and day two is making the bisque. In this particular case I cheated a bit by making the stock in the morning, and the bisque late that night. Admittedly the bisque was not quite as good as the previous time I made it, but that's my fault and not the recipe following. So off we go.

First, on day one, you're making the stock.

Hi, back? Welcome to tomorrow. Let's make our bisque.

Ingredients:

finely chopped lobster meat, from four small lobsters
1/2 cup white flour
1/3 cup butter
7 cups lobster stock
1 small can tomato paste
1 tablespoon sherry or red wine vinegar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup sour cream
1 pinch nutmeg
diced fresh tarragon, to taste
salt, pepper, to taste

Let's start by making a roux. Melt the butter in the bottom of a large pot, over medium heat. Add the flour and combine to make a paste. Cook the paste, while stirring it around, until it smells not like flour but sort of nutty and a little browned.

Slowly, while stirring, add the lobster stock. Once combined, bring to near-boil while stirring. You should be able to see the thickening agent of the roux upon the stock, if not, you can add some cornstarch slurry, or toasted flour, to make the stock a bit thickened.

Stir in the tomato paste, sherry, heavy cream, sour cream, and nutmeg. Once this is done, you can add your salt, pepper, and tarragon until the flavor of each is where you like it. Add your cooked lobster chunks, and once hot you're good to serve. If you want a smooth bisque, you can puree' the whole thing now.

Serve using a sprig of tarragon, and a twist of cracked pepper as garnish if you're feeling fancy.

Pork Chops, German, with onion and stout beer gravy

Ok, so we're in the Boston area visiting Brian and Jim. Some beer is involved. Ok, a lot of beer is involved. Soooo when it was my turn to make dinner, I says, I says to myself "Self, how can I involve even more beer in this week? Possibly with pork and onions?" Brian and Jim have some sweet stout beer in the fridge, home-brewed by their father. This seemed like an obvious solution. It turned out even better then I imagined. Served with garlic mashed potatoes and orange-tarragon carrots. Guess I'll post those recipes later.


INGREDIENTS:

* 2 tbsp vegetable oil
* 2 large pork chops, or 4 small
* salt, pepper to taste
* 2 large onions, finely diced
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 tbsp butter
* 3 tbsp flour
* 2 cups room temperature dark German beer
* 1 cup hot chicken broth
* salt and black pepper, again, to taste

Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Once very hot, add the oil to the pan and make sure the bottom is coated. Add the pork chops, season with salt and pepper, and brown both sides well. Remove them, set aside covered with foil. Reduce heat to medium, and add the onions and garlic to the pan, followed by the butter.

Cook, stirring often, until the garlic is fragrant and the onions are translucent. Add the flour, and cook for several minutes until the flour is a paste and smells nutty rather then like...flour. Combine the beer and chicken stock, and add to the onions. Stir with a wisk to remove brown bits from the pan until you have a nice gravy. Add more beer and chicken stock if you need. Return the pork chops to the gravy, reduce heat to low, cover with the foil. Simmer on low for 30 minutes. Serve.

Big Ass Classic Lasagna

This ended up being the Last Supper of sorts, the final cheesetastic bomb before I abruptly turned to exercising and eating healthier. Fare thee well, piles of cheese, I may not see you for a while. It pains me to say it now, but this was reeeeeeeally good.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb (250 g) lasagna noodles
1 pkg (300 g) chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups (500 mL) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup (50 mL) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Meat Filling:
1/2 lb (250 g) Italian sausage
1/2 lb (250 g) ground beef
1 each onion, carrot, and celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) each dried oregano and basil
Pinch hot pepper flakes
1 can (28 oz/796 mL) tomatoes (not drained)
1 can (14 oz/398 mL) tomato sauce
1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper

Cheese Filling:
2 eggs
1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper
1/4 tsp (1 mL) nutmeg
2 cups (500 mL) cottage cheese
1 cup (250 mL) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (125 mL) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

Meat Filling: Remove sausage from casing; crumble meat. In Dutch oven, cook sausage and beef over medium-high heat, breaking up with back of spoon, for about 5 minutes or until no longer pink; remove to plate. Spoon off all but 1 tablespoon (15 mL) fat from pot.
Cook onion, carrot, celery, garlic, oregano, basil and hot pepper flakes, stirring, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and meat; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, breaking up tomatoes and stirring often, for 20 to 25 minutes or until thickened. Add pepper.

Cheese Filling: In bowl, beat together eggs, pepper and nutmeg. Blend in cottage cheese, mozzarella and Parmesan.
In large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles for 6 to 8 minutes or until almost tender. Drain and place in cold water. Arrange in single layer on damp tea towel.

Spread 1 cup (250 mL) of the meat filling as base in greased 13- x 9-inch (3 L) baking dish. Top with one-third of the noodles in single layer; spread with one-third of the remaining meat filling. Spread with half of the cheese filling, then half of the spinach. Starting with noodles, repeat layers once.

Top with remaining noodles; spread with remaining meat filling. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover loosely with foil; bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

It-goes-with-chicken pilaf

It doesn't actually contain chicken, but it...goes with chicken. It's the best name I could think of given limited creativity.

1 carrot, diced finely
1 stalk celery, diced finely
1 onion, diced finely
1 cup diced mushrooms (I didn't have any on hand) :(
pinch of dried thyme

1 can (16 ounces) chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine, or apple juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley (or 1 tbsp dried)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp curry powder
1.5 cups uncooked rice, white or parboiled

Lightly coat a dutch oven, or large braising pan with no-stick spray and set over medium-high heat. When hot, add carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, and thyme. Sauté, stirring often, for five minutes until the onions are soft.

Except for the rice, add everything else. Bring to a boil, add the rice, then turn heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms and Peppers

My response to a challenge from Karen: Make dinner using only what you can find in the house, today, right now. I was allowed one lifeline item, and I chose mushrooms.

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp each salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

1 chopped red onion
2 chopped white onions
1/2 red pepper chopped
1/2 green onion, chopped
about two cups small whole mushrooms

3 slices bacon, diced

1 whole chicken, in pieces, skin-on and bone-in

1/2 cup red wine

butter and flour to make a roux

Ok, let's hit it. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Combine the balsamic, sugar, rosemary, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Put the vegetables+mushrooms into a large bowl, add about 2/3 of the balsamic mixture to this, toss it around to coat, and save the rest of the balsamic mix and keep it aside. Put the now-coated vegetables into a baking dish, and toss the diced bacon on top of that.

Pat dry the skin of the chicken, put the pieces on top of the vegetables (skin side up). Brush with the remaining 1/3 of the balsamic mixture. In the oven it goes for 30 minutes. Then out it comes, turn the oven down to 325 F. While waiting for the oven to cool a bit, add the red wine to the chicken and vegetables, then back into the oven for about 30 more minutes. Chicken should be 165 F internal temp, then it's done.

Remove the chicken to a separate platter, and cover with foil. Now remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and keep those aside, covered also. In a sauce pan, melt some butter over medium heat, and stir a tablespoon or so of flour into it, so you have a thick but liquid mixture. Now add the cooking liquid you have from your baking dish, and stir with a whisk so you have your pan sauce.

We served the chicken and vegetables (and sauce) over hot buttered noodles, because, well, any excuse to eat hot buttered noodles is a good one.

Onion Rings

I tossed these together on a hot day to go with some grilled burgers. I used sunflower oil in the fryer, in case you're wondering.


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk, or as needed

optional:
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp tumeric



DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a deep-fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).

2. Separate the onion slices into rings, and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Toss the onion slices into the flour mixture until they are all coated; remove them and set them aside. Whisk the egg and milk into the flour mixture using a fork. Dip the floured rings into the batter to coat, then place on a wire rack to drain until the batter stops dripping. Spread the bread crumbs out on a plate or shallow dish.

4. Deep fry the rings a few at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to paper towels to drain.

The paprika and tumeric are purely to add a little golden colour, feel free to omit.