'Not So Crabby' Crab Cakes

    Last month I went to Orlando, FL for vacation. While planning my trip I looked up all the Whole Foods in the vicinity of my hotel, to my surprise there was one right down the street. Whole Foods makes being vegan and being on vacation so easy. The items at their buffet are marked vegan on the label if they are vegan and there are so many choices. It is fantastic! I ate a lot of interesting things, most of which I am now trying to recreate.

Whole Foods in Orlando, FL

    On the way back from Orlando my boyfriend and I stopped in the Charleston Whole Foods to stock up, as it is only an hour and a half from home. I was trying to decide what to make for dinner when I came across vegan crab cakes in their deli case. They looked so good that I didn't even have to think about it.  They really were amazing. It was a flavor that I didn't even know I missed. So, I wrote down all the ingredients that were written on the package and went to work on recreating it. The only difficult part was the crabby part. Whole foods just chops up their chicken nuggets in order to get a crab like texture. I try and keep it as natural as possible so I wanted to come up with a way to not use box bought faux chicken nuggets. Here is what I came up with. I hope you like it.

Prep time: 24 hours and 20 minutes
Cook time: 16 minutes
Tools: Quart size freezer bag, cheese cloth, large mixing bowl, measuring spoons and cups, sharp knife and  greased baking sheet
Oven Setting: Broil

Ingredients:
1 package extra firm, organic tofu
1 1/8c vegan breadcrumbs
1/4c onion
1 stalk celery
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/3 c vegan mayonnaise

Directions: Drain tofu and place into freezer bag. Place in the freezer for at least 24 hours. After 24 hours, remove tofu from bag and place in microwave until thawed, check every 2 minutes to make sure that it does not cook. Total time to thaw is about 4 minutes. Place tofu in cheese cloth and squeeze until as much of the moisture from the tofu is gone. Finely chop celery and onion. Place into mixing bowl. Crumble the tofu and add to mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Mold mixture into 6 cakes. Place cakes onto greased baking sheet. Place into oven. Cook on both sides for approximately 8 minutes.

Note: Goes great with a side of Asparagus.