By New Year's Eve in Denver. We stayed home this year — Diego wanted to watch the ball drop on TV and the twins were up until eleven before conking out on the couch in a heap. Lisa made sparkling cider for the kids and opened a good bottle of champagne for us. At midnight we kissed and the kids cheered and Diego, twelve years old, shook my hand. I don't know where he got that. I shook his hand back seriously.
I did my annual review. I've been doing this since I got sober — taking New Year's Eve to actually look at the year, not just feel it. What I built. What I avoided. What I want different. 2018 was the first year I felt like I was living forward again after Ruben. That's not nothing. That's actually everything.
Made black-eyed peas for New Year's Day. It's a Southern tradition Lisa's family brought — you eat them for luck in the new year. I adapted the recipe with green chile and smoked pork neck bones, which makes it decidedly New Mexican, which is the only cultural compromise I'm willing to make. Lisa's mom, Gloria, called to make sure we were eating them. "You have to eat them before noon," she said. We ate them at eleven-fifty. Close enough, Gloria.
Dad called New Year's morning. He sounded rested. He told me about a dream he had about Ruben, a good dream where they were fishing together on the Rio Grande and the water was clear. He doesn't tell me about dreams often. I think he was making a gift of it. I thanked him for calling. We were both quiet for a moment and that silence said more than the words around it.
The black-eyed peas we made that New Year’s morning were really just a starting point — beans, pork, green chile, and time — and this three-bean chili captures that same spirit in a pot big enough for a family that stayed up too late and woke up grateful anyway. I lean toward green chile in mine, the way I always do, and the smoked pork gives it that low, earthy warmth that feels right after a year you’ve actually stopped to look at. Gloria would approve of the beans. She might not approve of the rest, but that’s the compromise.
Three-Bean Chili
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 1 hr 15 min | Total Time: 1 hr 35 min | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 lb smoked pork neck bones (or 8 oz smoked sausage, sliced)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Hatch green chiles (or 1 can diced green chiles, 4 oz), chopped
- 1 can (15 oz) black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Sour cream, shredded cheese, and sliced green onions for serving
Instructions
- Brown the pork. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the smoked pork neck bones (or sausage) and brown on all sides, about 4–5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Soften the aromatics. In the same pot, add the diced onion and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and green chiles and cook another 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
- Build the base. Stir in chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and oregano. Cook 1 minute to bloom the spices. Add crushed tomatoes and chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add beans and pork. Return the pork to the pot. Add all three cans of beans. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
- Simmer low and slow. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If using neck bones, remove them, pull off any meat, shred it, and return the meat to the pot. Discard the bones.
- Season and serve. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream, shredded cheese, and green onions as desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 18g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 10g | Sodium: 620mg