Double Stuffed Peppers

Last week, I got three giant bell peppers from the farmers' market; when P brought home our CSA vegetables, he informed me that there were three tiny bell peppers in our share.  Instantly, an idea hit me -- I double stuffed peppers.  I was going to stick those cute tiny peppers inside the giant peppers like Russian nesting dolls.

I didn't have a chance to make the double stuffed peppers (or, as P likes to call them, stuffed pepper stuffed peppers) until tonight at my dad's house, but I have been thinking about them all week.  Let me tell you, it was worth the wait.

The big peppers were stuffed with a mixture of diced jalepeno, soyrizo, brown rice, and spices.  The little peppers were inspired by jalapeno poppers, since they were jalapeno-sized bell peppers; they were filled with a combination of vegan cream cheese and vegan pepper jack, with a little surprise at the bottom -- diced jalapenos!  The mixture in the big peppers was quite spicy, so the cheese in the little peppers was there to cool things off -- which it did, along with adding a rich creaminess to the whole dish.

Once both mixtures were made, I filled the three big peppers with the soyrizo mixture -- pressing the mixture to the sides and bottom to leave a space for the wee peppers.  The remaining space was still a bit big for the little peppers, so I added some salsa into the holes before sliding the little guys in there.  The double stuffed peppers were then baked at 350° for 30 minutes.

While they baked, I got the side dishes ready -- refried beans and a lovely salad -- and made a lime vinaigrette for the salad.  The salad was dressed with a bit of salsa and the lime vinaigrette; the spiciness of the salsa worked really well with the acidity and sweetness of the lime vinaigrette, resulting in a super-delicious salad to go with the super-delicious stuffed-pepper-stuffed-peppers.

The only downfall of this recipe was that the peppers were SO stuffed!  One complete pepper, plus the salad, plus the beans, was more than any of us could manage to eat!  Which means that the downfall is really also a secret bonus, since we all have another pepper-half to eat tomorrow for lunch!  Woo!

Indian Potato-n-Kale Stuffed Peppers

We got some tasty-looking green bell peppers at the farmers' market last week, but I wasn't sure what to do with them -- maybe stuffed peppers? -- and then inspiration struck. With some red-skin potatoes (also from the farmers' market) and a bunch of kale (from our CSA), I would make an Indian-flavored, spicy mashed potato and sauteed kale mixture to stuff the peppers with.

P chopped up the kale nice and small so that there would not be big chunks mixed in with the smoother texture of the potato, while I chopped and boiled the potatoes until they were soft enough to mash and got the peppers ready -- cutting off the tops and scooping out the seeds inside. I sauteed the kale in a bit of olive oil and some Indian spices, including the hot curry paste I use for just about everything. Once the kale was cooked and the potatoes were mashed, I mixed it all up together -- it already tasted delicious, but I managed to get (most of) the mixture into the peppers anyway.

Once stuffed, I stuck the peppers in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes, until the peppers were nice and soft -- but not too soft! The texture of the peppers was perfectly balanced between tenderness and crispness, and the top of the stuffing peeking out the top got delightfully crunchy from being uncovered in the oven. Fabulous!

We have one pepper left, and you can bet that we are going to be fighting over it for lunch tomorrow!

Vegan Omelette with Jalapenos, Potatoes, & Pepper Jack 'Cheese'

I am closing in on the perfect vegan omelette. I swear. I'm not quite there yet, but it is slow and steady progress from the last attempt at a vegan omelette. Last time, the outcome was a little too fluffy; this time, not quite fluffy enough. The taste is there -- the kala namak and chickpea flour combination are definitely where it's at! --, but the texture needs to be just right.

It's getting close though; so close I can almost taste it! I am definitely going to make another attempt this week, so hopefully I'll have an actual factual recipe to post soon instead of being a tease with only pictures.


Pretty though, isn't it? It's stuffed with home fried potatoes, a red jalepeno, a green jalepeno, and pepper jack style almond cheese. The home fries were cooked with garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and a little sea salt; the cayenne pepper gave them a nice little kick! The red jalepeno was nice and sweet, with just a hint of spice to it; the green jalepeno lacked that sweetness but was a bit hotter than the red, giving a different layer of heat to the overall flavor. Finally, the almond cheese bound all of the filling together and gave the oozy cheesiness that I look for in an omelette. Totally delicious.


(Full disclosure: I probably wouldn't have posted another recipeless post about the vegan omelette, but I am compensating for the fact that I forgot to take a picture of a meal I wanted to post earlier this week! The missing meal was a lime basil pesto -- yummy pesto goodness with a hint of citrus! -- over rotini. If we get more basil at the CSA this week, I will try again! Pinky swear!)