Tuna, how I love thee

I hate strictly following recipes. I really do. Recipes are more like guidelines than strict rules anyway. I refuse to believe that I have to follow a recipe for something to be edible. This is not new, resourceful moms have been changing recipes for ages. Don't get me wrong, I can recognize the merit in recipes, they're useful and helpful. Hence my recipe postings. It's just the measurements that make me nervous and suspicious. How do I know a little more of this or that won't make it better?

I don't know, maybe one day I'll learn to follow a recipe and I'll never make cooking mistakes again. Until that day, Viva la Resistance!

Here's a recipe for tuna cakes I "created". It was a crab cake recipe but I didn't have all the ingredients (including crab) so I moved some things around and made it my own. And it was really good if I do say so myself. Tuna is so versatile and so good for you. If you're scared of the taste, it's very subtle, not fishy at all in these cakes.

Tuna-Cakes
(remember, experiment!)
Makes 6 small cakes (good for two people)

2 cans drained tuna (in water)
1 egg
1 grated carrot
about 1/3 cup of red onion
a small squeeze of dijon mustard (or spicy brown)
two medium spoonfuls of mayo
a few shakes of garlic powder
a dash of salt
a dash of cayenne pepper
juice of half a lime
about 1/2 cup of crushed saltines
flour
canola oil (or any other light colored oil)

Place all ingredients, except for flour and oil, in a bowl and mix together. Then make little cakes, dredge in flour and place in pan with hot canola oil.

Cook on each side about 5 min, or until golden on each side. Serve with garlic aioli, hmm...