Cheezy Kale Hummus Dip

I served this dip warm and it reminded me of the non-vegan Spinach-Artichoke Dip that I so often crave when browsing menus at restaurants but know that if I order it, I'm going to feel crummy later.

Covet no more! I can make a yummy (and HEALTHY!) substitute! :)

This was originally inspired from: http://cleancuisineandmore.com/garlicky-kale-hummus/

Then I played with it. :)

4 cups of kale (about four leaves worth), destalked and sliced into fine strips

1/4 cup of water

1/4 cup of raw cashews or walnuts (or raw pumpkin seeds), soaked

1-2 cloves of garlic

1 can of garbanzo beans/chickpeas, drained and rinsed thoroughly with hot water (this will make it smoother)

1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon tumeric

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

1/2 cup of almond mylk

a couple blops of dijon mustard to taste

3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 teaspoon of agave nectar

1. Boil about 2 inches of water in a pan on the stove. Place kale in a steamer basket (I had to do mine in two batches due to the steamer's size) and cover. Steam for about 10 minutes or VERY soft.

2. Blend water, nuts/pumpkin seeds (I use mainly pumpkin seeds with just a couple nuts), and garlic together until reasonably smooth.

3. Add all of the other ingredients to the blender and process until smooth.

4. Now, you can either eat it at this point (how my mom prefers it) or proceed to my personal level of heavenly bliss in the next step!

5. Place roughly half of the mixture in a custard ramekin (like for crème brûlée) and put in oven (I used our small toaster/convection oven) for 15 minutes at 350ºF. Enjoy! :)

Variation 1:
Add in 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of quinoa and blend.
Variation 2:
Put a couple spoonfuls of mixture after step 4 in a bowl with a dill pickle cut into slivers and another leaf of chopped kale and microwave for 30 seconds. Then stir and pour over a plate of raw zucchini pasta (grated or spiralized zucchini).