Rather than resign myself to notion that these dishes could never be converted over to a meatless status, I decided to pull myself up by my vegetarian bootstrings (cotton, of course), and see if I could find a way to convert these meat-ies to meatless.

The first was my Grammy's recipe for American Chop Suey, actually, almost everyone's Grammy made this or some variation of it. I tried different ways but this one comes closest:

Meatless American Chop Suey

1 vidalia onion chopped 1-2 tbsp. butter 1/2 pkg Quorn (brandname) veggie grounds frozen 2 cans Campbells Tomato Soup 1 tblsp. catsup (yes catsup, you can't really taste it, it just adds a rich color to sauce) sea salt and pepper to taste

1 lb of your favorite fancy pasta in its rigati form, that means with lines, or something like like gemelli or rotini

Melt butter in a medium sized skillet over low heat. Add vidalia onion and gently saute until translucent. Add frozen Quorn grounds and heat till thawed. Add 2 cans soup and cook over low heat for 5-7 minutes. Add catsup salt and pepper and cook an additional 102 minutes.

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain thoroughly and add sauce to pasta. Stir to incorporate completely. Serve. Serves 4-6 people as a side.

This next one is an adaptation of a Greek-Middle-Eastern recipe for Dolma. I loved this dish as a youngster summering on Cape Cod. A wonderful Lebanese family "turned me on" to this dish and I have finally found a way to make it meatless and spectacular!

Blackberry picking time was once a most important country activity. Country people would pick in droves, gathering fruit for jams, tarts, crumble, jellies, teas, wine, ale, syrup, vinegar, cordial, summer puddings and rest! Tayberry, Raspberry or Blackberry jelly is a great way to preserve this fruit for when it is needed in winter - it makes a great base for a hot toddy. Legend has it that wild Blackberries should not be eaten after October 10th because Devil spits on every bush at this time and they certainly lose flavour and become 'fly blown' as autumn progresses. Roger Phillips in 'Wild Food' (my favourite food book) notes that this choice of date falls around Michaelmas Day (allowing for an 11 day calendar shift in 1752). This feast day celebrates "the primeval war in which St. Michael Archangel hurled Lucifer out of Heaven and down to earth" and provides more evidence of how Christianity assimilated much of folklore for its own ends.