Three years ago I decided to go “meatless”. It wasn’t a difficult decision as I wasn’t a voracious carnivore to begin with, however there were a few dishes I missed that contained meat and I wondered how I was going to live without these favourites.

Rather than resign myself to the thought that these dishes could never be converted to a meat-free state, I decided to pull myself up to my own vegetarian means (cotton, of course) and see if I could find a way to convert these meat-based dishes. go without meat

The first was my Grammy’s recipe for American Chop Suey, actually almost every Grammy made this or some variation. I tried different ways, but this is the closest one:

American Chop Suey without meat

1 chopped vidalia onion

1-2 tablespoons butter

1/2 package Quorn (brand name) frozen ground greens

2 cans of Campbells tomato soup

1 tablespoon tomato sauce (yes, tomato sauce, you can’t really taste it, it just adds a rich color to the sauce)

sea ​​salt and pepper to taste

1 pound of your favorite fancy pasta in its rigati shape, i.e. with lines, or something like gemelli or rotini

Melt the butter in a medium skillet over low heat. Add the vidalia onion and gently sauté until translucent. Add frozen Quorn kernels and heat until thawed. Add 2 cans of soup and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to the ketchup and cook an additional 102 minutes.

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain well and add the sauce to the pasta. Stir to fully incorporate. Attend. Serves 4-6 people as a side dish.

The following is an adaptation of a Middle Eastern Greek recipe for Dolma. I loved this dish when I was young and summering on Cape Cod. A wonderful Lebanese family “turned me on” with this dish and I finally found a way to make it meatless and spectacular!

vegetarian dolmas

1 jar of Grapeleaves in brine

Stuffed:

2 cups of cooked basmati rice

1/2 cup of currants

1/2 cup of ground pine nuts

1/2 cup thawed quorn grounds

2 tbsp. dried mint (or 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint)

1 tablespoon. dried parsley (or 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley)

1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1/8 cup finely chopped fresh oregano)

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons of pepper

1 small can of tomato paste

Juice of 2 lemons

Remove the vine leaves from the jar, rinse and unfold carefully, and rinse again. Lay out paper towels and pat dry. Carefully remove the stems that are still on the leaves.

In a large bowl, mix the filling ingredients until well incorporated.

Carefully break apart some of the leaves and cover the bottom of a 1-2 gallon stock pot.

To roll, take a sheet, place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of the sheet, about 1/2 inch up from the bottom edge. Fold 1/2-inch up over the filling, fold each side toward the center, and then, starting at the bottom, roll the entire package up until you have a 1- to 2-inch log.

Continue with the rolling process until all the filling is used up.

Line up the rolled leaves in a circular pattern in the pot until they are all inside. For the juice of both lemons gently on the rolled leaves. Place a dinner plate on top with a rock in the middle to hold it in place. Gradually add cold water until it covers the leaves.

Bring contents to a boil, then reduce and simmer for about 1/2 hour until tender. Drain the water by holding the stone to hold the dish in place and gently pour in the cooking water. Lay flat until almost cold.

Remove the plate and serve with plain, rich yogurt.

These can be frozen in 1-2 servings for later. I like to do it this way and then microwave them for a minute and a half for a quick meal.