While I increased my gardening by two I did not increase my knowledge of gardening. Research? Planning? Why would I do that? Don’t you just plant a seed, water it, and voilá? More or less.
It wasn’t that I was unsuccessful, more like unaware that if you plant 3 watermelon plants and 3 cantaloupe plants they will take over your entire garden in a creepy, crawly, sort of way and kill off your basil, cauliflower, and chives.
I did however manage to have an overwhelming crop of swiss chard as you may have noticed from this recipe, and this one. Luckily, chard makes me feel like I’m being healthy and nice to myself so I don’t mind cooking it up for dinner.

Pasta with Swiss Chard, Sausage, and Yellow Wax Beans
A mind-blowingly good pasta dish that is a snap to make.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 12 ounces hot Italian sausage, casing removed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound yellow wax beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup chicken stock or water
- 3 cups packed, chopped swiss chard
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
- 1 pound pasta
- Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add sausage and brown, breaking up with the back of the spoon while cooking. Add garlic and cook a minute more. Add beans and stock and scrape up any browned bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook until beans are just tender, about 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water, and return pasta to the pot.
- When beans are barely tender, add chard and cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper and pour sausage mixture over pasta, add parsley and more pasta water if it seems dry. Toss together to combine and serve, drizzling each bowl with a little olive oil and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese if desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 639Total Fat: 36gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 27gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 983mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 7gSugar: 7gProtein: 29g
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