Baked Tuna Cakes

Dear people in your 20’s,

Have you noticed that we’re all pretty much the same?  Sure, some of us go to college and some don’t, some of us make babies, some of us get jobs, some of us undergo a ridiculous amount of school.  We make different choices and build identities.  But on average we all have fair eyesight and hearing, our hearts pump and our lungs exchange air.  Our skin is intact, our digestion is blissfully uneventful.  The 20-something body is a vehicle still under warranty with good insurance.

With 9 month’s-worth of patients in my head, I’ve been trying to decide at what age all of life’s choices make an impact on the age of the body.  And I think that age is 50.  There are 50-year-olds who can think and interact like a 20-year-old, 50-year-olds that play soccer and can touch their toes.  And there are 50-year-olds who come into the hospital on the cloak of the reaper.  Their patient chart says 50, but they look and act like they’re 80.

When I see these people I think about the way I choose to treat my body each day, and wonder which choices will accumulate to dictate the quality of my middle-age.  Will 50-year-old Anita despise 25-year-old Anita for her addiction to Presti’s bakery items?  Will she wonder how 25-year-old Anita could be so selfish that she decided to watch Mean Girls for the 10th time instead of go for a walk outside?

It’s difficult to live with 50-year-old Anita in mind, but she gets closer every day.  And man, does she ever scold me like a parent.

Recipe (adapted from some issue of Martha Steward Living, the magazine wherein the drudgeries of cooking, cleaning, and folding laundry are re-spun into domestic bliss).  For this recipe you need a small bowl and a large bowl, a spoon, a baking sheet, spray lube, and about 30 to 45 minutes.

• 3 5oz cans tuna in water, drained
• 1/2 can black beans, drained and washed
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 1/2 to 3/4 red onion, chopped

Mix these together in a large bowl.

• 2 whole eggs and 2 egg whites, mixed
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 1 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1/4 cup dijon or deli mustard
• A creative spirit

If you want, add more flavorings such as spices, cilantro/parsley, hot sauce.  Mix all of these ingredients together in a small bowl until homogeneous, then add to the large bowl and mix thoroughly.

• 1/4 cup bread crumbs

Add the bread crumbs and mix thoroughly.  Using clean hands shape these into patties about the diameter of the palm of my hand (standard measurement).  At this point you can either lay them onto a plate sprayed with spray lube and pop them into the fridge for later cooking. Or:

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