Sesame-Kale Almond Bowl

I used to love Baskin Robbins ice cream cakes, and I was craving one for my birthday. So I searched for recipes and found a three-layer Mango-Raspberry Sorbet Ice Box cake in Prevention Magazine. With this inspiration, I made myself a Brownie, Banana-nut, Raspberry Sorbet Ice Box birthday cake.

I thought it would be a great recipe for the Virtual Vegan Potluck, (which is going on RIGHT NOW, by the way, so be sure to click the buttons at the bottom of this post to see what others brought to the feast) so I got ready for a photo shoot. I took the cake out of the freezer and let it thaw for 5 minutes and then got a knife. I cut through the sorbet and banana-nut coconut milk ice cream layers, but the brownie was hard as a rock. I let the cake sit for another 5 minutes, but the brownie was still frozen.

I called my husband over, and he was able to cut the cake, but with melting ice cream and an obviously frozen brownie it didn’t look appetizing. I took photos anyway, which turned out okay so I still planned to post the recipe.

After waiting another five minutes for the brownie to thaw, I sat down with my husband for a slice. The brownie was still frozen! So, I sliced our brownie layers off and nuked them for a minute. With the defrosted brownie, the cake was delicious and as we were savoring it my husband said, “It would have been easier if you just topped brownies with scoops of ice cream.”

He was right! When I realized this, I knew I couldn’t post the recipe. No worries – I’d just have to make another dessert for the potluck. So a week later I made a Chocolate, Coconut & Rum Pie that was amazing! In an anxious binge, however; I ate all the Oreo cookie crust off the pie before I could get a photo of it. Yes, I really did this, click here for the story.

At this point, I figured the universe was telling me something and I decided to make a main dish for the potluck instead. I’m glad I did, because my Sesame-Kale Almond Bowl of sautéed kale, brown rice, creamy ginger sesame almond sauce, sauerkraut and sesame ginger roasted chickpeas is probably the best vegan dish I’ve ever made. My husband loved it so much that he requested this dish for his birthday.

I only wish my bowl photo was as lovely as Sophia’s Coconut Curry Bowl with Thai Red Rice photo. One day I’ll take food photos that nice. Hopefully before the next potluck!

This recipe was inspired by Native Foods Sesame Kale Macro Bowl.

Sesame-Kale Almond Bowl

Serves 3

Ingredients

3 cups cooked brown rice

1 large bunch of kale

1 cup raw sauerkraut

1 ½ cups Sesame Ginger Roasted Chickpeas (see recipe below)

Sesame Ginger Almond Sauce (see recipe below)

¼ cup pumpkin seeds or any nuts and seeds that you like

Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (this is a healthy, low sodium alternative to soy sauce), to taste

Directions

Put rice on to cook and then make Sesame Ginger Roasted Chickpeas (see recipe below). While rice and chickpeas are cooking, make Sesame Ginger Almond Sauce (see recipe below).

When the rice and chickpeas are almost done, wash the kale and then strip the leaves off the stems (if you’ve never stripped kale, watch this video for a tutorial). Cut the kale into bite-sized pieces.

Set up a Steamer basket in a large pot with a lid.  Fill pot with 1 inch of water and place over Medium-High heat. Place the kale into the steamer basket, cover with a lid and cook 4 to 5 minutes until the kale is tender. Toss the kale periodically while steaming for even cooking.

Once the kale is steamed you’re ready to assemble your bowls (I use big dinner plate sized bowls, but you can use a dinner plate if you don’t have large bowls). Fill the bottom of each bowl with a cup of brown rice. Sprinkle Braggs Liquid Aminos on the rice to taste. Place your uncooked raw sauerkraut in a circle around the rice. Then top the rice with steamed kale, Sesame Ginger Chickpeas, Sesame Ginger Almond sauce and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!

Sesame Ginger Almond Sauce

Ingredients

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup almond butter

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon sesame oil

½ tsp grated ginger

1 tablespoon water

Directions

Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth.

Sesame Ginger Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients

1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

¼ cup Braggs Liquid Aminos (this is a healthy, low sodium alternative to soy sauce)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon sesame oil (those of you following a no oil diet may omit this, but it’s such a small amount and adds so much flavor that I don’t recommend it)

½ teaspoon grated ginger

1 tablespoon water

Directions

Put the chickpeas in a large bowl. Mix all other ingredients in a small bowl. Pour the sauce over chickpeas and mix. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least two hours (I’ve made them without marinating and they were still yummy!). Once the chickpeas have marinated, preheat oven to 375. Drain the chickpeas of any excess sauce and spread them in a single layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring once after 15 minutes. Allow to cool and enjoy!