My daughter E graduated from middle school on Monday, so she’s officially a high schooler now. Yes, a high schooler. Those of you who picture her as she appeared in her first photo on this blog can perhaps appreciate how strange it feels to look at her and see both that nine-year-old girl and the beautiful, smart young woman that she’s becoming. Makes a mom feel proud. And old!
Anyway. Now that school’s out, summer is here in every way that really matters. After all the pre-graduation craziness of dress-buying and shoe-buying and house cleaning for house guests, I just wanted to rest my brain this week and not stress over posting a new recipe. But wouldn’t you know it, last night I cooked two dishes that I’ve never written about before, so I felt obligated to give them their photo op and jot down their recipes so that I could share them with you. Both taste great on their own but somehow work even better together. You can serve the Cosmic Cashew Kale and Chickpeas over rice or some other grain, but when Confetti Quinoa is so easy to make, you really ought to give it a try.
Cosmic Cashew Kale and Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon or broth powder
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 1/2 cups chickpeas (or one 15-ounce can, rinsed and drained)
- 1 bunch kale, central stems removed and leaves thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Hot sauce, to taste
- 2 to 4 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
Instructions
- Soak the cashews for an hour in hot water or overnight in room-temperature water. Drain. Place them in a blender and add 3/4 cup water, 1 clove garlic, and 1 teaspoon of broth powder (or 1 bouillon cube). Blend at highest speed until completely smooth. Set aside until needed.
- In a large non-stick skillet, cook the onion until it begins to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and garlic, and cook for another minute. Add the chickpeas, kale, and two tablespoons water. Cover immediately and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until kale is tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the reserved cashew sauce, oregano, and salt, black pepper, and hot sauce to taste. Cook, stirring, until sauce thickens. If sauce becomes too thick, add a little water to thin. Add the fresh basil just before serving over Confetti Quinoa.
Preparation time: 1 hour(s) | Cooking time: 20 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 276 calories, 97 calories from fat, 11.5g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 209.8mg sodium, 718.5mg potassium, 35g carbohydrates, 7.8g fiber, 6.3g sugar, 12.5g protein, 8.1 points.
Confetti Quinoa is an extremely easy side dish that complements just about any type of food. Use it instead of rice with bean dishes, tofu, or seitan.
Confetti Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed very well
- 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
- 2 cups hot vegetable broth
- 1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 green onions, green parts only, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepan, toast the damp quinoa for a few minutes until it begins to dry out. Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT the green onions, cover, and cook on low until all the liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Stir in the green onions and serve hot.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s) | Cooking time: 20 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 168 calories, 24 calories from fat, 2.6g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 228.9mg sodium, 283mg potassium, 29.6g carbohydrates, 3.4g fiber, <1g sugar, 6.8g protein, 4.6 points.
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{ 81 comments… read them below or add one }
As always, beautiful pics and delicious recipes! I just learned that Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco has stopped using quinoa because of what the trade is doing to indigenous Guatemalans. They are suffering due to the high demand for their quinoa from which they aren’t benefiting. The cafe has switched to local brown rice. Whole wheat couscous would be another good alternative. I’ve made the switch too, and thought you might want to explore the issue. Thanks.
I’ll look into it, JT. I do use local brown rice, but couscous is not an option for me because I avoid eating pasta except on rare occasions.
The middle men appear to be the problem here. Looks like that issue is being addressed via a more direct route from producer to consumer.
that looks fantastic! We are going to share it on our Facebook page and send people here for the recipe!
Thank you for this recipe! Super healthy and so pretty. I love chickpeas and kale together and just recently resolved to eat more quinoa so I can’t wait to make this.
This look so delicious and fresh and clean!
Looks*
Oh YUM!!!! I am always in the need of a quinoa recipe! I especially love that it has chickpeas in it! Thanks Susan!
I love kale AND chickpeas….great recipe…can’t wait to try!
Excellent dish. One of the better looking dishes seen on here recently. Thank you!
They look delicious – thanks for recipes. Can’t wait to try them. x
love the idea of using a cashew based sauce, esp. paired with quinoa!
i’m going to bookmark this recipe for future quinoa eats. thanks susan!
Wow, this definitely looks like a winner. I’m going to feature this soon for Meatless Mondays at BlogHer!
That would be very appreciated, Kalyn!
This sounds fantastic! I always use cashew cream as a sweet thing, love the idea of it being savory!
I totally understand on the graduating front. I’ve been working with kids for a long time now, and yesterday I saw that one of the kids I had in my program when he was in kindergarten was graduating this year – EEK!
This was amazing! I had my neighbor down for dinner and all three of us really loved it. I’ll make this many times over & will try it with brown rice & perhaps millet.
Thank you so much for an elegant yet easy recipe.
What a great way to eat your beans and greens!
I made this last night and both dishes were delicious and totally complimentary to each other. I do agree that couscous would be a good alternative if one didn’t have quinoa. I will definitely keep these recipes in my repertoire.
Wow, I can’t get over how E has matured, nor that she’s now officially a high schooler! Congratulations to her on her graduation.
This is such a pretty and delicious-sounding dish! Kale is our favorite veggie, too bad organic kale prices are stratospheric here right now, but I’ll definitely save this to my recipe box.
Oops, didn’t mean for my comment to appear as a reply to Liz! (Though it’s nice to hear how much she enjoyed the recipes!)
I love chickpeas and Kale together in harmony. THEN YOU ADD QUINOA! perfection. Great post.
This looks delicious and I appreciate the alliterative recipe name
Thanks! It’s a mouthful, though!
I made this last night. Truly one of the best things I have ever eaten! Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes.
This meal includes so many things I love! I can’t wait to give it a try.
Your daughter is a gorgeous girl — what a change over the years!!
Wow. I just made this for dinner tonight and everyone loved it. The 14 year old said “This is really good Mom” (of course I said don’ thank me, thank Susan V. My husband was singing the Cosmic Kale and Chickpea song and declares this his new favorite. So thanks for another great recipe. (We served it with brown Jasmine and wild rice mix that I toasted before cooking – thought it accompanied the nutty flavor well and everyone wanted more hot sauce, but I think our “Wizard’s Hot Stuff” might not be very hot… Anyway – just great. A+ Thank You for sharing.
I was thinking of looking for new kale recipes then saw this on my google reader. I tried it last night, and thought it was delicious. I used extra kale and chickpeas to spread out the sauce to reduce the calories per serving and it was still enough. Thanks for the recipe, I had never tried kale and chickpeas together before, and the cashew sauce would be good for other veggies / stir fries.
Susan, this looks fantastic–so colorful and deicious–and I love the name, too!! So many of my favorite foods.. .thanks for posting!!
xo
moonwatcher
I love your recipes and gave this a try yesterday. My version was a little bland. What would you use to brighten things up? A little lemon? Red pepper?
More than likely I forgot to add something, of course! Thanks and congratulations on the graduation *and* all the prep work for same. Such times.
We added extra hot sauce at the table which really heated it up. Other than that, I’d say add more fresh basil. Can’t go wrong with basil! I also like the idea of adding lemon juice to brighten the flavors.
Do you have a receipe for g abanzo alfredo? Had it at a vegetarian cafe–delicious!
Wonderful receipe. My infant loved his greens and lapped it up
This recipe really looks and sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing.
I made this recipe two days ago and it was delicious! Though I love Vegan restaurants, I’m fairly new to cooking meals. I am already several weeks into the 8 week becoming a Vegan plan I found online. http://www.fitango.com/actionplans/8-Weeks-to-Becoming-Vegan/9098
Susan
Thanks for this amazing recipe. I made and it was incredible good and comfortable. This is my new comfy food! Thanks again! XXOO
Made this last night….very good. Dave said he thought a side of some varied chutneys to dabble in along side it would have been nice. He’s a new vegan convert …. may try his suggestion next try around.
thanks for the great recipe!
Excellent recipe. made it and ate it without quinoa (didn’t have any) and it was still very tasty. the dash of hot sauce was the icing on the cake. thanks!!
Just made this for the first time, and its definately gonna be a regular
Made this tonight with a few changes.. used shredded salad carrots in the quinoa instead of bell peppers (didnt have any) and added about 10 minute in on the quinoa cooking. I used “no chicken” better than bouillon for the veggie bouillon in both the quinoa and the cosmic chickpeas and kale, and added fresh italian oregano from the garden into the blender with the cashews instead of dried. Came out amazing! Even my meat eating husband tried a bite (never actually eats any of my vegan dishes but has an open mind to trying things) and said it was “mmmm…..pretty good” which is just about a miracle as he usually only likes chicken hot dogs, tuna salad and ceasar salad… I will be making this again soon, especially since my kale has been growing like mad with our cool Oregon spring weather! Thanks!
This was delicious! The cashew cream was easier to make than I thought, and the meal was both tasty and satisfying. Thanks for a great recipe!
YUM! This looks good! I love your site, both the blog and the fatfreevegan.com site – it has helped me soooo much through the years!
We just finished eating this for dinner tonight. It was so delicious, thank you! I just made the kale, not the quinoa, and served it along with some grilled lemon-garlic tofu. Looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow!
Oh, this looks so good. I love cashew sauces. Great site! Will be coming back.
Hi Susan, thanks so much for this recipe! I haven’t been able to find many kale recipes that I like, so I’m SO glad I stumbled across this one. I absolutely love it! I wanted to let you know that I just posted about it on my blog (with a link to your original post for readers to get the recipe).
yum yum yum! just finished a bowl full of this for dinner! cashews, kale and chickpeas are pretty much my favorite things
Hi Susan
Love your recipes but can’t seem to subscribe! Please will you add me to your emailing list?
Many thanks
Great meal. Just made this for dinner, and it looked just like the picture in the blog. It was a big hit, so much so, my partner agreed to do the dishes if I make it again!
I just had the kale with cashew cream for my lunch. Amazing!
I bet it would be even better with the quinoa, though.
I made this a few weeks ago and took it to church for potluck. It was a hit. Even the kids were going back for more. (All of our church potlucks are vegetarian)
This was delightful! We enjoyed this immensely! We will be making this again and again!
This looks so creamy and comforting! yum!
I just made this for dinner! Sooooo good!
So, I’ve had 2 experiences with Kale. Both were sad and bitter, but this sounds like it might be a good 3rd attempt. Does this make the Kale mild?
As always, loving this!
I think the cashew sauce really smooths out the taste of kale. But I have to say that the only time I’ve found kale bitter was when I made kale chips. Everybody else likes them, but I prefer my kale soft!
I have also had many people comment that kale is bitter, but I think with the right bit of dressing (maybe this cashew creme, some light vinaigrette, some mac nuts, it can be actually quite sweet and amazing. Also, every once in awhile, I get a bunch of kale that is ‘off,’ and terribly bitter… so perhaps you might want to try again! Get the freshest kale you can, from the farmer’s market, stand it in water (like fresh flowers) for a few hours to fluff up, then keep in a loose bag in your fridge… should stay fresh (and sweet) for a week! I love kale, and want to encourage everyone to try it! aloha, andrea
this looks so amazingly delicious and simple. i love it idea of the kale as the base, and the quinoa as the top
clever!
Wonderful dish! Eating it right now with lentils instead of chickpeas(it’s what I had on hand) and lots of Sriracha. Mmmm!
Wonderful! Really liked it. I never had kale before and this was delicious. My mom liked it too and she’s not vegan or even vegetarian.
Thanks!
I just made the kale and chickpeas (with a few modifications- more pepper, less nuts, no oregano or basil), but I loved it! This is a great recipe, Susan! Thanks for sharing.
I wrote about my version here: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/creamy-cashew-kale-and-chickpeas/
This was a very delicious and satisfying meal, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I did not have chickpeas so I used cannelli and I think it was just as good, though they may have been too soft.
Thank you for this website. I am a new vegan, not by my choice but for my health and I don’t have a clue how to cook this way. You have great idea’s and great reciepes. I also love the way your website runs and is laid out-it’s easy to navigate compared to other sites I’ve been too. Don’t stop!!!!
Oh my gosh… made this for dinner tonight! Not a speck left!! We just recently went to a vegan diet, and you have been the source of our FAVORITE recipes! Every single recipe of yours that we try, my husband says “Can we have this every week?”
Thank you so much for the great eats!! You make a vegan diet fun and tasty.
Hi Susan,
Just wanted to thank-you for all the great recipes. I just made the cherry snack cake today for my Drs office and they were nuts over it. I am a lousy cook, but with your recipes it is easy. I have been a vegan for about six months and I feel better today than when I was in my thirties (I’m 60). Keep up the great work you are doing and maybe one day we will meet. If you ever come to Tucson, AZ please let me know.
Lovingly,
Barbara Sterett
This was delicious!
recipe worked beautifully! Thanks
recipe worked great! thanks
I have to admit when I was making this for dinner last night I thought it was going to be awful…. boy, was I wrong! It was delicious and my husband had seconds. Thanks for a great recipe!
So this is time three, making this dish! I really love it! I am a chow hound, seriously! My husband repeatedly asks me, “Where do you put it all” And this dish fills me right up. We eat vegan one day a week ,so we are not vegan full time, but he and I both are hooked on your recipes. You are the only source i use now! Thursday night in our house has become meatless thursday! Since i am lactose free it is also dairy free night every night! This one is hearty, healthy and filled with flavor! My hubby is a great cook so he would have it no other way! thanks for helping me compete with my “chef” hubster! I can’t get over how good you are at whipping up these delicious concoctions! thanks again!
I made the kale last night for dinner. I was doing a dance in the kitchen, I loved it so much! My meat eating husband tried it and declared my dinner better than his – score! Thank you!
Just made this for my boyfriend and roomie, went down great!
What a wonderful dish! Started the Daniel Fast 14 days ago and trying to ease back into different more complex healthy dishes and this was the first one I prepared. It was just great! I did use Collards instead of kale (being true southern) and even my sister loved loved loved it!
I made this last night- INCREDIBLE! Even my non-vegan boyfriend raved about it. I am so in love with your blog. Every recipe I have made has turned out fantastic! Thank you!
my only question is why did it take me so long to finally try this recipe? it rules. and it was even better the next day with a dash of nutritional yeast on top
Just made this. WOW. So delicious. Thanks so much.
I just love kale, so you know I’m going to try this recipe! Adding it to my weekly menu, Susan, thank you.
I have made this recipe and love it! My only complaint is the time for the quinoa. I found it took much longer for the liquid to absorb (over an hour). All I can guess is that I was supposed to do it on a higher heat setting or maybe toast the quinoa longer?
I just made this for dinner and wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed it! I made it for my boyfriend and I and he had two heaping plates full! Thanks so much:) Can’t wait to make it again!
how many cups is a bunch of kale?
Yum Yum Yum! I love quinoa and kale mixed together, thanks for the great recipe idea!!!
My husband said, “Tell Susan this is another great recipe, I like it.’
You have saved my vegan life. I am trying to follow Eat To Live, and have been having the most difficulty with eating cooked greens. Spinach I can handle, but I don’t like kale, mustard greens, collard greens, etc. I just finished a big plate of this cosmic cashew kale and confetti quinoa, and man was it good! I left out the chickpeas because I didn’t have any canned and I was too hungry to take the time to cook them myself. I realize this shouldn’t be a daily treat because of the fat in the cashew sauce, but it was so encouraging to actually enjoy a dish of greens. I have hope for my vegan future! Thanks!
I’ve been lurking about your site for a few years now, using your awesome creativity for making some tasty dishes, but hands down, this is absolutely the best one yet. Last night was my first time cooking for a new beau, who eats meat (but was a vegetarian for 10 years, so I felt like I could make something that didn’t have a clearly defined protein, veg, & starch). It was fabulous! Thank you so much for the great recipe.
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