Quinoa With Spinach, Artichokes and Chicken

Earl had a bad week. The cold settled into his chest like a tenant who's not leaving. He coughed all night Monday and Tuesday — deep, wet coughs that shook the bed and shook me. I made him tea with honey and lemon at two in the morning and sat beside him while he drank it, and I watched his face in the lamplight and I thought: this man is getting old. Not older — old. The difference is that "older" is gradual and "old" is sudden. One day you look and the face you've been looking at for forty-two years has changed, and you can see the bones under the skin and the years in the eyes, and your heart does a thing that is not a beat but a brace.

By Thursday the cough was better. Kayla called — she's taking a winter clinical at Memorial and she consulted with a friend on the respiratory floor, and they agreed it was likely bronchitis, not anything worse, but she wanted him to see his doctor. I made the appointment. Earl said, "I don't need a doctor." I said, "Earl Henderson, you need a doctor and you need to stop arguing with the two nurses in this family." He went to the doctor. Bronchitis, as Kayla predicted. Antibiotics. Rest.

I made chicken soup every day this week. Not the same chicken soup — Monday's had noodles, Wednesday's had rice, Friday's had dumplings. Different soup, same medicine. Chicken broth made from scratch, with onion and garlic and celery and a whole chicken that I simmered for hours until the broth was golden and rich and the house smelled like healing. This is the one thing I have that doctors don't — a pot big enough for a whole chicken and the time to stand at the stove and stir it into something that says "get better" more effectively than any prescription.

Saturday he felt well enough to sit on the porch. The afternoon was mild — fifty-eight degrees, clear sky, the kind of January day that Savannah gives you when it feels generous. He sat in his chair with a blanket on his knees and the sun on his face and he closed his eyes. I sat beside him and I held his hand. We didn't talk. We just sat. The warmth of the sun. The sound of birds. The slow, steady rhythm of his breathing, which is the sound I have been listening for, listening to, counting on for forty-two years.

Now go on and feed somebody.

The soup carried us through the worst of it — all those long, quiet days of broth and steam and listening for Earl’s breathing to even out. But by the time Saturday came and he was sitting on the porch with the sun on his face, I knew we were ready for something that felt less like medicine and more like a meal. This quinoa dish with chicken, spinach, and artichokes is what I turned to first — still nourishing, still gentle, but with a little more life in it. It felt right for a man who had just come back to himself.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and black pepper to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

Cook the quinoa. In a medium saucepan, combine rinsed quinoa and chicken broth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Season and cook the chicken. Pat chicken pieces dry and season generously with salt, pepper, and oregano. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden on the outside and cooked through, about 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Saute the aromatics. In the same skillet, reduce heat to medium. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes (if using) and cook for another 60 seconds until fragrant.
Add the artichokes and spinach. Stir in the chopped artichoke hearts and cook for 2 minutes to warm through. Add the spinach in batches, stirring until just wilted, about 2 minutes total.
Combine everything. Return the chicken to the skillet. Add the cooked quinoa and stir gently to combine all ingredients. Squeeze the lemon juice over the top and taste for seasoning, adjusting salt and pepper as needed.
Serve. Spoon into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese if desired. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Quinoa With Spinach, Artichokes and Chicken — The Week I Cooked Everything I Had