This recipe is a real treat for vegetarians who miss the seafood specialties of the U.S. East Coast. But would you look at this: there's almost no fat, little salt, lots of protein, and a heck of a lot of flavor! Best served with salad, you can precede these little expressions of delight with a light tomato soup and serve with a seafood cocktail sauce (check the ingredients first!) or simply with slices of lemon.

Ingredients:

• one aseptic (box) package of very firm tofu
• 2 cups 1-cm-cube bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons fresh, minced onion
• 1 ripe plantain
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice and pulp
• 5 dashes Tabasco sauce
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise (see below)
• 8 teaspoons Old Bay (see below)
• 1/4 cup or less of chopped dried seaweed of your choice
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped

Method:

Cut the tofu into pieces roughly 1cm by 1cm by 3cm -- you know, the size of picked crab meat. Gently mix it in a large bowl with the bread crumbs. Add the onion and mix again.

Process the plantain with the lemon juice and Tabasco sauce in a food processor or with an electric blender until smooth. Add this blend to the tofu mixture and gently stir. Add the mayonnaise, Old Bay, nori, and parsley, and stir. Cover and chill at least one hour.

Dust hands with flour and shape the mixture into 12 or 15 patties or balls. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees F until brown and heated through (30 or 40 minutes). Serve hot, garnished with parsley and a slice of lemon. Squeeze a lemon over them and/or flavor with Tabasco sauce.

Notes:

Note about mayonnaise: You can purchase prepared vegan mayonnaise from many natural-food stores, and it can also be made from tofu. I don't have a tofu-mayo recipe; Nasoya's "Nayonaise" works well.

Note about Old Bay: This is a blend of spices easily found on the U.S. East Coast. Now that McCormick has bought the original company, it's distributed nationwide and can be found in the fresh fish area or spice aisle of any large supermarket. If you can't find it, any other blend of crab boil should do.

Preparation time is about an hour.

Yields 12 to 15 krab kakes.

When preparing this recipe and any other food you enjoy, please use organically-grown vegetables, fruits, grains, and flavorings. The Earth you save may be your own.

---