Sauteed Spinach and Peppers

January 2022. We are here. We are trying. I will not write the details because some things are private, but I will write this: on January 2nd we had the specific conversation — the real one, not the planning conversation, the one where you look at each other and say: we are doing this — and then we were doing it. Ryan was nervous in the way he gets nervous about things that matter rather than things that are dangerous. I know the difference. I know him.

I have been reading and planning and preparing since September and now I am in the part where preparation gives way to waiting, which I am better at than I used to be and not as good at as I need to be. I am a planner. I have lists for everything. A baby does not come from a list. It comes from biology and luck and whatever else is at work in the universe, and I know this, and I am choosing trust over control because there is no other useful option.

I made soup on New Year Day because that is what you make on New Year Day in our apartment. This year: black-eyed pea and collard greens with ham, because the New Year soup should have something to say about luck and prosperity, and I need all the help I can get from every food tradition that is offering. I made it the way the recipe said and then added more garlic because more garlic is always the instruction my cooking follows regardless of what the recipe says.

Patty called at 7:15 on January 1st with happy new year and what are your plans for the year. I said I have a few things in mind. She said that is a very Amanda answer. I said thank you. She said be good. I said I try. She hung up. The year began. We are in it.

The black-eyed peas and collard greens were the heart of that New Year’s Day, but the greens themselves — the act of cooking them, stirring them, watching them wilt down into something tender and bright — were what I kept coming back to in the days that followed. This sauteed spinach and peppers is the version I make when I need something fast and grounding and green, when the year is asking something of me and I want to answer it with something real on the stove. It’s not complicated. It doesn’t need to be.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 22 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced (or more — more is always the instruction)
10 oz fresh baby spinach (about 8 packed cups)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

Heat the oil. In a large skillet or wide saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Cook the peppers. Add the sliced red and yellow bell peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5–6 minutes until softened and beginning to pick up a little color at the edges.
Add garlic and heat through. Push the peppers to the side and add the minced garlic to the center of the pan. Cook for 30–60 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Mix in with the peppers.
Wilt the spinach. Add the spinach in large handfuls, turning with tongs after each addition. It will look like too much — it always does. Cook 3–4 minutes total, until all the spinach is wilted and most of the liquid has evaporated.
Season and finish. Add the red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, and lemon juice. Toss to combine. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sauteed Spinach and Peppers — The Greens I Make When the Year Needs a Little Help