Pasta with Kale, Garlic and Sausage

Once again, the principle that bitter greens are eminently lovable when combined with fatty spicy meat products is borne out. As a bonus, this dish is very simple and quick. I recommend pasta that's short and chunky rather than long and noodly because this didn't turn out very saucy, and it's hard to distribute little chunks of stuff among long strands of stuff.

1/2 pound whole-wheat pasta, preferably penne or rotini
1 bunch yummy organic kale
3 cloves garlic
2 bratwursts
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup wine or broth or what-have-you
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Bring a pot of water to a gentle boil or strong simmer. Dunk the kale in and leave it for five minutes or so, or until it gets a bit limp but not squishy. Remove the kale; bring the pot to a strong boil and add pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions (I hate this particular instruction, because half the time I find it in a cookbook and the referenced ingredient is something I pulled out of a bulk bin somewhere, or have otherwise repackaged in a handy glass jar or something, but I confess I actually have no idea how to boil pasta and usually just cook it until I suddenly remember that there's pasta on the stove, at which point it's either still crunchy or unappetizingly soggy (which is how CTM seems to like it best, so no harm done). So, you know, just cook it as per usual). Meanwhile, chop up sausage and saute in olive oil along with sliced garlic, thyme, and boiled kale with stems removed. Add wine or broth and steam, covered, for three minutes; uncover, turn up heat, and saute, stirring, until liquid is reduced to taste. Stir in grated Parmesan; stir in cooked pasta and serve.