This “how to” recipe is for those not familiar with greens. After years of cutting collards every day for out adopted Iguana family, I have become quite good at making mounds of greens. The technique directions are for those that are right handed, lefties please reverse right-left instructions.

Hold the green in your left hand, about in the center, with the back side of the leaf facing up, and the stem end to the right. With your right hand, strip off about two or three inches of the leaf leaving the stem intact. Don’t try to get too much of the leaf with this first step; you just want to get the part that is usually small separate tender leaves on the bottom of the stem. You can skip this step when cleaning collard greens if you like, the smaller bottom leaves come off easily with the next step.

Grasp the stem with your right hand right were the leap starts and strip off the leaf with your left hand with a downward motion. If the stem breaks, just set the broken stem aside and repeat the step until the hard stem is removed.

When all of the leaves are stripped and stacked in a row, cut the row in half using a French knife. Slide the knife under one of the piles and hold it in place against the knife with your left hand. Pick up the pile of leaves and place them on top of the other.

Trim the right side of the leaves to make the end even. Lift up the pile and slide the trimmed pieces under the pile. This gives you a nice stack of leaves and makes it easier to make uniform slices.

Hold the stack of leaves firmly with your left hand and carefully start cutting off thin uniform slices until you reach the end of the pile.

If the pile was wide because the leaves were large, cut the sliced leaves in half, or into smaller strips if you like.

The most effective way to clean the greens is after they are cut. Put them in a large bin or pot with lots of cold water. Wash the greens with an up and down motion while keeping your fingers open to avoid trapping the any dirt or sand in your hand. Allow them to set for about half a minute so that any sand will settle on the bottom. Using the same partly open hand technique used for washing, pull the greens out of the water and toss into a large colander. Avoid the temptation to scoop the greens out because that will catch some of the sand you are trying to remove. Dump out the rinse water and repeat until all dirt and sand is gone.

Now you can cook the greens using your favorite recipe. I just put them in a large pot and add water to about ¼ of the depth of the greens. Cover and bring them to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until tender. Drain the greens in a colander. Return the pot to the stove and sauté sliced onions and garlic in a little olive oil until browned. Toss in the greens and season with salt and pepper. Cook until all excess water is evaporated. Serve topped with hot sauce and soy margarine.