Don't be so crabby

Before I was a vegetarian, I was very fond of seafood. If I were to stray from my commitment these days, it would only be for some really good seafood.

Years ago on a trip along the Eastern Seaboard, I stopped in Baltimore to catch a baseball game at Oriel Park at Camden Yards. Few things about the game really stick in my mind except that among my game time food options were these incredible crab cakes...I don't think I'd ever been to any other ball park that had crab cakes.

So, I caught a cooking show recently that featured these delicious cakes and wondered if there was such a thing as a vegetarian crab cake. I found a couple of recipes.

I have to say  that none that I have made up so far really taste like the real thing, but this recipe tastes really good. The Old Bay seasoning gives it that fresh from the dock sort of flavor  without any of that meat.  I think this recipe will satisfy omnivores, recovering carnivores and vegetarians as well.

Crabless Cakes

1/2 cup of onions, very finely diced

1/2 cup of celery, very finely diced

1/2 cup of red pepper, finely diced

1/2 cup of Portobello mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups of zucchini, grated as thinly as possible

1/2 cup of sour cream

2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

2-3 teaspoons of Old Bay Seasoning, to taste

1 egg white

2 cups (or more, as needed) of really dry breadcrumbs

3 tablespoons of olive oil

• Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, except the olive oil, and mix together with a fork. (If the mixture is too moist to form into patties, add more bread crumbsuntil you are able to do so.)
• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Take a 1/4 to 1/2 of a cup of the mixture and form into 1/2-inch thick patties. Cook the patties in the skillet until they are lightly browned on both sides. (It was about 3 minutes per side to get it right, for me.)

Vegetarian.