Vegan Crab Cakes with Red Pepper Aioli, Gilbere Forte, Freelance Whales and the Toadies

I didn't sleep or shower the night before my senior class trip to Baltimore, MD. I was too busy clowning around in a life size iguana cage. To try and hide my fatigue and poor hygiene, I wore a sweater and a knit cap. Unfortunately my attire drew the attention of some mall cops in Baltimore and they kicked me out. This was a big deal because it was my only source of entertainment in the tourist trap part of town where we were ordered to remain. To entertain myself for the next six hours I wandered through restaurants, perused menus and ordered water. One thing that kept popping up on each menu, and rightfully so because Baltimore is famous for them, is crab cakes.

I've never eaten a crab cake, well not a real one. Recently I came across a vegan recipe for them on a great blog Weekly Vegan Menu. The blog topped their crab cakes with a Horseradish Tartar sauce which I wasn't interested in. So I decided to top my crab cakes with Vegan Red Pepper Aioli. It was an experience, twelve years in the making.

Vegan Crab Cakes topped with Red Pepper Aioli
(printable version)

-Six Crab Cakes
-1 package of soft tofu
-2 Tbs. Lime Juice
-1 Tbs. cider vinegar
-salt
-1 cup roasted red peppers in a jar.

1. Process the tofu in a food processor until smooth. Add the other ingredients and mix until well blended.

2. Refrigerate for one hour to allow flavors to mesh.

3. Top Crab Cakes with aioli.

One of my favorite songs that day in Baltimore was "Possum Kingdom" by the Toadies (I was spending a lot of time walking around a body of water like the main character in the song). Amazingly enough, as I stood in my kitchen to create the crab cakes, I was again able to listen to music by the Toadies. The band has a new/old album, Feeler coming out. One of the tracks on Feeler is "City of Hate" (posted courtesy of Spin).

The Toadies-City of Hate

Another song reminiscent of both my trip and crab cake cooking is Gilbere Forte's "1st Floor" (which features Freelance Whales). "1st Floor" is equal parts Hip-Hop, chill wave, trance and indie. Not normally a good thing but in this instance, I'm right there with them.

Gilbere Forte (featuring Freelance Whales)-1st Floor