While you’ve got three quarts of water boiling, separate the greens from the stems and then cut them into a manageable size. (I went for halves, which were a bit too large, so I’ll go smaller next time.) When the water’s boiling, put the collards in and let them cook for about 8-10 minutes. Drain them, then plunge them into a bowl of cold water immediately, and drain them again.

Then you’ve got some olive oil in a medium sauté pan on medium heat, to which you’re going to add two cloves of minced garlic. 30 seconds later, toss in the collards and the raisins from two little red SunMaid boxes, and a bit of salt. Cook for three minutes, stirring all the while. Pour in 1/3 cup of orange juice, stir for another 15 seconds, and you’re done.

Put on a wok on high heat; when it’s ready, add a tablespoon of peanut (or canola) oil. Toss in about two or three cloves of minced garlic; stir it quickly and then add about 1/2 pound of pork loin, which you’ve cut into 1-inch by 1-inch chunks, and some freshly ground Szechuan black pepper. Give it a few minutes, then add some thinly sliced pepper. [The recipe calls for cayenne, but we end up using serranos because they’ve been easier to find. You don’t want to go much milder than that, or I don’t, anyway. I’ve also substituted chicken breast for the pork loin, and it’s okay, but the pork’s better.] Add a bit of salt, and keep cooking until the meat’s changed color all over.

Then add corn—in the summer, we like to cut it straight off three cobs, but in a pinch one bag of frozen kernels ought to do the trick. Salt it a little further and then cook it all for another 3-4 minutes.