My niece Alex is vegan and is an amazing woman. My brother, her father, is expanding his cooking to accommodate her appetite. Here is my humble effort to help him out. (He is not the most creative sort.) I found these at the Warrenton Farmers Market at th Waterford Run Forge and Farm booth. This has the texture and the taste of the sea of calamari. The coating is crunchy and a little spicy. The dipping sauce adds a creamy touch to the dish. I hope you like it.

1 pound oyster mushrooms from Waterford Run Farm and Forge
1 cup flour
1/4 cup lite soy
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon umami blend seasoning
1 teaspoon salt substitute
1 cup remoulade or seafood sauce

Cooking spray.

In pie pan 1 mix flour, pepper, and soy sauce until smooth; if you need to, add water. It should be like crepe batter.

In pie pan 2 add panko, Old Bay, salt substitute, and umami blend.

Heat air fryer to 350 degrees.

Chop stems from mushrooms into bite size pieces. Cut tops into calamari size pieces.

Add mushrooms to wet batter to coat.

Toss mushrooms into panko mix to coat.

Add to air fryer; spray with cooking oil and cook at 350 for 9 minutes.

Remove to paper towel.

Serve with seafood sauce.