Sweet and Sour Green Beans

New Year 2025. Black-eyed peas and greens and cornbread and the cabbage that Shanice's family contributes to the tradition. This year Caleb sat at the table and ate the black-eyed peas with the methodical focus he brings to all new foods: each one examined, most accepted, a few placed firmly back on the tray for reasons only he understands. He is seventeen months old. He is the youngest person at this table and he is already participating in the ritual. He is eating the luck that this family has been eating on January first since before he was born, before his father was born, since a grandmother he will never sit beside but whose name he carries in the middle of his own knew to put the peas on to cook on the first of the year.

James and Dorothy left Sunday morning. Dorothy hugged me in the front hall and said, same time next year. I said yes. She said, and the time after that. I said yes to that too. She said: Loretta, you know this is one of the things I was afraid I wouldn't have. When I was sick. The years ahead. I said, I know. She said, thank you for being one of the things ahead. I said the same to her. We held each other for a moment in the front hall and then she went out to the car and I watched it turn the corner the way I always do.

2025. Caleb one. The table full. Dorothy well. The peas in the pot. Whatever comes.

The greens are as much a part of the first of the year as the peas — they’ve been on every January table I can remember, and they’ll be on every one ahead. This sweet and sour preparation is the version I come back to when I want the greens to feel like something special rather than something obligatory: a little tang, a little sweetness, enough to make Caleb look up from his peas and reach across the tray. If Dorothy and James are coming again next year — and they are — these will be there too.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped
4 strips bacon, chopped
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup water

Instructions

Cook the bacon. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pan.
Soften the onion. Add the sliced onion to the drippings and cook over medium heat for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly golden.
Make the sweet and sour sauce. Stir in the apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and water. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Add the green beans. Add the trimmed green beans to the skillet and toss to coat. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender but still have a little bite.
Finish and serve. Remove the lid and cook uncovered for 2 minutes to let the sauce reduce slightly. Top with the reserved crispy bacon and serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sweet and Sour Green Beans — The Greens That Belong on the January Table