Fishless Sticks: Take 1

Oh bother. I'm posting this because it is a cautionary tale for others. I would not recommend making this recipe as it stands, but the flavors are good, so feel free to steal the idea and improve upon it.

Fishless Sticks

Ingredients:
1/2 cup TVP (texturized vegetable protein)
1 cup hot water
1 tsp kelp granules (I used Braggs and found them in the spice section at the health food store)
1-2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning to taste
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 flax eggs (6 tbsp water and 2 tbsp flax meal left to set for a few minutes together)

Combine all ingredients but flax egg and let sit for about 10 minutes or until TVP is soft/chewy and has soaked up the water. While this is happening I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and thought about how I knew these wouldn't hold together, flax egg be damned. I thought that if I had some leftover mashed potatoes, that would make a great binder. But I didn't. I got out a cookie sheet with a silpat mat (foil would work too) and formed my mixture into fingers/sticks the size of a good puffy ladyfinger cookie. I got 6 sticks from this recipe. I baked them for 25 minutes until they were brown and crispy on the outside.

When I took them off the mat, they were a bit crumbly and aren't holding together well, but the flavor is nice. Next time I'll try it with potatoes or something to bind it. Feel free to comment with ideas.