Babycakes & Tuna Cakes!

Babycakes is my mom’s cat; she’s so feisty and . . . well, she just runs the house. I miss her. I miss having a cat in general, but Buppy claims he’s allergic. I secretly think he just dislikes them. Ah, c’est la vie.

I digress. Onto the main topic of discussion today: tuna cakes! Before I decided I was hungry for them one day, I’d never eaten or considered making these little patties of fishy goodness. I’ve come across a lot of recipes for salmon cakes throughout the years, but I’m not huge into canned salmon and wouldn’t waste fresh by turning it into cakes (no offense to those who do!) Then one day, out of nowhere, tuna cakes began calling my name. Actually, it was more of a shout. I had to make some.

I wasn’t all too sure what to put in, but Buppy and I tried to make crab cakes once upon a time (eh, let's not talk about 'em though, ok?) so I just decided to throw together whatever sounded good at the time. And you know what? They were really good! I didn’t measure anything out exactly, as is usual for me, but I guesstimated at the time what I used so I could recreate them whenever I want. Or share the recipe with you.Tuna cakes

1 can tuna (I prefer and have only tried with water-packed)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. onion, minced
1 Tbsp. celery, minced
½ Tbsp. capers, chopped
1 egg
1/3 c. bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. butter

I emptied the can of tuna into a bowl, added all other ingredients (except the butter, it’s for frying!) and mixed with my hands. I tried to keep the whole thing from turning into mush but still mixed to incorporate everything. I then formed what I had into 3 good-sized patties (as you can see above.) I melted the butter in a non-stick skillet over med.-high heat, let it get good and hot and pan-fried the cakes for a few minutes on each side until they turned as golden as I wanted them. I’d say it was probably 4-5 min. on each side. They were done, I was hungry and they tasted super yummy.

Buppy has yet to try them as I made them on a night when I was home alone. Hopefully I can make them for him soon; I think he’ll like ‘em!