class Hashie::Hash

not be available in all libraries.
functions baked in such as stringify_keys that may
A Hashie Hash is simply a Hash that has convenience

def flexibly_convert_to_hash(object, options = {}) 

def flexibly_convert_to_hash(object, options = {})
  if object.method(:to_hash).arity.zero?
    object.to_hash
  else
    object.to_hash(options)
  end
end

def maybe_convert_to_hash(object, options) 

def maybe_convert_to_hash(object, options)
  return object unless object.is_a?(Hash) || object.respond_to?(:to_hash)
  flexibly_convert_to_hash(object, options)
end

def to_hash(options = {})

Converts a mash back to a hash (with stringified or symbolized keys) 
def to_hash(options = {})
  out = {}
  each_key do |k|
    assignment_key =
      if options[:stringify_keys]
        k.to_s
      elsif options[:symbolize_keys] && k.respond_to?(:to_sym)
        k.to_sym
      else
        k
      end
    if self[k].is_a?(Array)
      out[assignment_key] ||= []
      self[k].each do |array_object|
        out[assignment_key] << maybe_convert_to_hash(array_object, options)
      end
    else
      out[assignment_key] = maybe_convert_to_hash(self[k], options)
    end
  end
  out
end

def to_json(*args)

The C generator for the json gem doesn't like mashies 
def to_json(*args)
  to_hash.to_json(*args)
end

def to_mash

Convert this hash into a Mash 
def to_mash
  ::Hashie::Mash.new(self)
end