By Training camp 2028. Twelfth camp. The team I've assembled this year has a specific quality I haven't seen before: every position group has a player who could lead the room. Not one leader, but twelve. The culture has produced itself down to the third string. I don't take credit for this. The players who came before, the ones who won those seven championships, they built this. They built it by being the standard that the next class tried to match. Culture is transmitted by example, not instruction.
Hector is in hospice care now. Full hospice, at home, with the team that visits and the equipment that accommodates and the particular quiet that settles into a house when the medicine and the care have become the daily facts rather than the exceptional ones. I call every day instead of every Sunday. He's not always awake when I call. Clara answers and tells me his status. Sometimes he gets on the phone for ten minutes. Sometimes less. He is always himself when he gets on.
On Monday he asked me about the team. I told him about the running back and the quarterback and the defensive lineman who runs a four-six and is somehow four inches taller than everyone else on the field. He said, "You've got someone to watch." I said I thought so. He said, "Good. Watch him." He was quiet for a moment. He said, "I'd have liked to watch him." I told him I'd describe every game. He said okay. He said, "Be good to your mother." I said I would. I said I always would.
Green chile and eggs at camp breakfast. Every Tuesday. The team has named Tuesday. They call it Green Chile Tuesday. I didn't name it. They named it. This is how traditions become permanent: when the people being served name it for themselves.
Green Chile Tuesday didn’t start as a ceremony — it started as breakfast, the kind that shows up reliably enough that people begin to count on it. When the team gave it a name, I thought about what Hector always said about the difference between a routine and a ritual: a ritual is what a routine becomes when people decide it matters. These ricotta scrambled egg and asparagus tacos, layered with roasted green chile, are what I’d put on the table for any Tuesday worth naming — simple enough to scale for a full roster, good enough that nobody forgets it.
Ricotta Scrambled Egg and Asparagus Tacos
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 bunch asparagus (about 12 oz), tough ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup roasted green chiles, chopped (fresh-roasted or canned, drained)
- 8 small corn or flour tortillas, warmed
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- Hot sauce, to serve
Instructions
- Prepare the eggs. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the ricotta, salt, and pepper, and whisk until just combined — small streaks of ricotta are fine and will create creamy pockets as they cook.
- Cook the asparagus. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly browned at the edges, about 4—5 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Add the green chile. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the chopped green chiles and stir for about 1 minute to warm through and let any excess moisture cook off.
- Scramble the eggs. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the butter to the skillet with the chiles and let it melt. Pour in the egg-ricotta mixture. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold the eggs in slow, wide strokes, pulling the curds from the edges toward the center. Remove from heat while the eggs are still slightly underdone — residual heat will finish them. Fold the asparagus back in.
- Assemble the tacos. Spoon the scrambled egg mixture into warmed tortillas. Top with fresh cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and hot sauce as desired. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 380 | Protein: 21g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 480mg