* kiss the hem of her apron *

One of my favorite things about Sunday is actually having the time to plan and cook meals for the week.  Today, after an hour of weight training and an hour of yoga at the gym (my first time there in a week!), I hit the co-op and noticed these pretty peppers…

Remembering that I had some frozen black-eyed peas still lurking in the back of my freezer from a month ago, I was inspired to stuff the peppers with the peas.  My first thought was to also buy some soysage, cajun seasoning, and kale or collard greens to make a creole-flavored dish, but truth be told, I spotted Follow Your Heart vegan soy cheese at a low price, whose package proudly claimed “It Melts!”

(Now, most vegan cheese doesn’t melt.  Why not?  Because it doesn’t include something called casein, a milk protein that makes your average soy cheese ooey and gooey.  I figured this stuff wouldn’t melt, either, but I was willing to try it out.)

((Spoiler alert:  it doesn’t melt.))

Oh, and I spied this lovely organic cilantro, which begged to be chopped…

…and so, I decided to pair the black-eyed peas with chile powder, cumin, salt, roasted garlic salsa, mix in the cilantro and top with the cheese.  While I’d usually use black or pinto beans for this dish, it was an easy way to try something unexpected.

The peppers are ready to be blanched and stuffed!

The peppers are ready to be baked!

I baked ‘em at 350 degrees for 25 minutes and then topped each half with a slice of the cheese.  I baked the dish for about 10 minutes more, determined to get that cheese to melt.

Nope.  Didn’t melt.

I do declare, however, that these shall be perfect for dinner tonight and to bring to work for lunch a few times this week!

Now, how do you stuff your veggies?  And do you have a favorite soy cheese?