I've made the dolmathes both ways - both with meat and rice, and veggie with rice seasoned with lemon and tomato. Sometimes when I do the veggie version I do a mixture of rice and orzo (the tiny rice-sized pasta) to make it closer to a complete protein. But you can save some $$ using collards instead of buying the jarred grape leaves, and truthfully I like the taste and texture better, and they are easier to work with!

I love that icon, BTW - that's adorable. May I gank it?