The solution to all your week night meal problems: Tuna Cakes

    There's been so many times when I've looked in my fridge at sighed at the slim pickins' I have. It's always this: capers, bacon, a block of Parmesan cheese, eggs, mayonnaise, lemons, whole yogurt. When I'm at the bottom of the barrel with veggies usually all that's left is green onion and cilantro. Ok, so I have yogurt. I have some herbs, I always have Dijon. I always have canned tuna. TUNA! TUNA AND CRACKERS! TUNA CAKES! Tuna cakes are basically a "poor man's" crab cakes but super delicious. You can eat them with a salad for lunch or as a main course for dinner with some vegetables.

       I had yogurt and mayonnaise. I combined the two with some Dijon, basil, Tabasco, and salt and pepper. There I had a great little cream sauce to go on top.
       I thought of college kids when I created this recipe. I recall my college years when we would all go to the supermarket together. We had no choice but to go as a group simply because only one of us had a car and the market was too far to walk. We would do a massive food haul. Stuffing the food into the fridge was always like figuring out some cryptic puzzle. You would never believe how much food can fit into a regular sized refrigerator. You would also be surprised to see how little amounts of food college kids can live off of and how creative their meals can become. Ram en with a poached egg was a staple lunch in our college house.
     So this recipe is for the University kids. There's plenty of health depletion and deprivation going on during those times but a descent meal shouldn't be one of them. So go on. Smoke those cigarettes, drink that coffee, pull those all-nighters and chug that beer. But don't skimp on good food.

Here is the video for tuna cakes

Tuna Cakes              serves 2

1 can tuna in water or oil, drained
1 egg
1/4 onion, copped fine
1/2 lemon, squeezed
10 saltine crackers, crushed
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon mayonnaise
3-4 shakes of Tabasco
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
flour for dredging
Olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter

- Combine all the ingredients except the crackers and mix.
- Add the crackers and mix. Cover, and refrigerate for 1/2 hour.
- Form 4 patties and gently dredge them in the flour. Meanwhile, get a pan hot with butter and oil.
- Fry and each side for 4 minutes. If it's browning too quickly, lower the flame. Serve with lemon or cream sauce. Enjoy!

*** This recipe is very adaptable. Substitutions are welcomed!***