Stuffed Red Peppers for Valentine's Day

Ingredients

1 medium onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely minced and rested 15 minutes before cooking
1/4 cup plant-based ground “beef” I used the Gardein brand
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf finely crumbled
1/2 cup finely chopped tomato pulp (halve and remove seeds and jell-like material)
1 cup cooked grain*
2 Tablespoons pine nuts
2 Tablespoons raisins
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2-4 bell peppers I used red for Valentine’s Day
Lemon wedges when serving

Instructions

Water-sauté onions in a frying pan over medium heat. Do this by adding water a Tablespoon-full at a time, just enough to keep the onions from sticking.
When the onions are soft, add garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
Thoroughly mix-in the "meat", grain, pine nuts, raisins, and parsley.
Taste for seasonings. I to avoid over salting, sprinkle lightly with salt, if needed. If you like spice, add a couple of shakes of cayenne pepper. Remove pan from the heat.
Now is the fun part. Cut tops off peppers and clean out seeds and membranes. Carve a little heart into the widest part of the pepper and cut 2 hearts out of the tops.
Fill the peppers with the “meat” and grain mixture and place the small hearts on the top.
Bake in a pre-heated oven of 350-degree F for 25-30 minutes.
They can be served hot or cold with a lemon wedge.

Notes

*I used a wonderful mixture of bulgur and red quinoa that I cooked in a vegetable broth, which had a nice nutty flavor. You might also use Italian Farro, barley, quinoa, or brown rice.