Crabless Crabby Patties

This is for a mock-crab cake. I've always been curious if it would really taste like crab and it pretty much does. You can eat a lot for little calories. The ingredients are in season, give it a try, so simple. Great for leftovers for lunch.

Crabless Crab Cakes

Makes approximately 10 cakes using 1/4 cup measure

1/2 cup onions, finely diced

1/2 cup celery, finely diced

1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely diced

1/2 cup mushrooms

1-1/2 cups zucchini, grated on a box grater

1/2 cup sour cream (reduced fat worked well)

2 tsp. worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. dijon mustard

2-3 tsp Old Bay seasoning, to your taste - I used 2-1/2

1 egg white

2 cups panko bread crumbs (or a little less, adjusting as patties are holding together)

3 T extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, EXCEPT the olive oil. Mix together with a fork. If too moist, add more bread crumbs, I used a little less than 2 cups.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Take 1/4 cup measure and form into patties. Cook the patties until lightly browned on each side, about 3 minutes per side. Serve with tarter sauce or not. If you need to make this in two batches, add more oil to the pan to keep them brown.

Total recipe has 670 calories. Divide by your patty count to determine per patty calorie count. I hope you like them.

Discovering a new grain

Long time no post! I've heard a lot of talk about Quinoa (KEEN-wah) - a highly nutritious, gluten-free seed from South America. It's a great source of protein and good option for anyone looking for a substitute for rice or couscous. I've most recently tried this at Pure and Simple Cafe in Greencastle - a spicy quinoa wrap - sooo good! Pure and Simple is a great place to pick this grain up in bulk for a good price! This recipe is straight off the package and really tasty.

Quinoa Summer Salad

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock or water (I used vegetable stock)

1 cup quinoa

4 cups combined vegetables or fruit: Fresh raw diced or sliced cucumber, tomatoes, stone fruit, peppers, mushrooms, or grapes and/or lightly steamed vegetables such as broccoli or asparagus spears, sliced zucchini, green beans, pea pods, corn kernels, peas, squash or pumpkin dices (I used english cucumber, red peppers, mushrooms)

1/2 large red onion, diced

2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 T wine or sherry vinegar

3-1/2 T extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

3 T sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley or cilantro

Cook quinoa with broth according to directions, allow to cool. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the vegetables, lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil with salt and pepper. Toss in the cooled quinoa, almonds and herb of choice, taste and adjust seasonings. Serve chilled.