By New Year's Eve. The last night of 2024. The year we moved to Cascade Heights, the year the cookbook was finished, the year Marcus brought Keisha home and Aaliyah brought deviled eggs and Isaiah's greens crossed state lines and Zoe received the skillet. A year of arrivals. A year of the table expanding.
Quiet New Year's Eve — just the family. Sparkling cider (Curtis's blood pressure, my solidarity, the tradition). Derek kissed me at midnight in the Cascade Heights kitchen, beside the Folgers can, under the light that comes through the window where the magnolia tree stands. The kiss was the same kiss as every midnight — unhurried, private, sacred. The kitchen was different. The love was the same.
Isaiah made the New Year's Day meal: black-eyed peas and greens. The second year. The tradition that belongs to him now. He stood at the gas stove in the Cascade Heights kitchen at 6 AM on January 1st and cooked the luck meal for the family, and I stayed in bed and let him, which was the hardest thing I've done all year. Letting go of the stove. Trusting another cook. Being the woman in the bedroom while someone else is the woman at the stove. Except he's not a woman. He's a twenty-year-old man named Mitchell who cooks like a Jackson and that's the miracle. That's the whole miracle.
Marcus and Keisha left. Jasmine left. Isaiah left. The house returned to four. But four in Cascade Heights feels different from four in College Park. Four in Cascade Heights feels like a breathing space between fillings. The house was built to be full and it will be full again and the being-full is what we're for.
Isaiah made greens that morning alongside the black-eyed peas — the full luck meal, the whole tradition — and I stayed in my bed and let him do it, which is its own kind of blessing I’m still learning to receive. This chard with almonds is the version I’ve made in the years before, the one I would have made if I’d been the one standing at the stove: simple, a little toasty, green and good and honest. It belongs to whoever is cooking now, and right now, that’s him.
Chinese Chard With Almonds
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 12 minutes | Total Time: 22 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 large bunch Chinese chard (or Swiss chard), stems separated and chopped, leaves torn into large pieces
- 1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar (optional, to finish)
Instructions
- Toast the almonds. In a large skillet over medium heat, toast the slivered almonds, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, about 3–4 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Sauté the aromatics. In the same skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic is just golden at the edges, about 1–2 minutes. Watch carefully — it moves fast.
- Cook the stems first. Add the chopped chard stems to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add the leaves. Add the torn chard leaves in batches, stirring to wilt each addition before adding more. Cook until all the leaves are wilted and tender, about 3–4 minutes total.
- Season and finish. Drizzle in the soy sauce and sesame oil, toss to coat, and cook 1 minute more. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Add a splash of rice vinegar if you like a little brightness.
- Serve. Transfer to a serving dish and scatter the toasted almonds over the top. Serve warm.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 148 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 7g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 310mg