NOTE: Ingredient Flexibility: Almost any type of smoked sausage will work, Beef, venison, turkey, pork, Italian all seem OK. Greens can be collard, mustard, turnip, even dandelion or spinach. Try a mixture of whatever you find fresh at the market. I used garbanzo beans because they were on hand, but cannellinis, fresh limas, snaps, or even blackeyed peas should work as well.

The Sausage:

In a large saut pan brown the sausage in olive oil for 3-5 minutes turning the slices at least once. When nicely browned add the grapes and wine. Cover and move to a back burner on medium-low heat.

Get all other ingredients ready to go as things happen quickly in the next steps.

The Greens:

In another sautpan warm the olive oil then add the onions. Saut them until soft then add the garlic and pepper flakes. Cook an additional minutes until it just starts to lightly brown. DO NOT BURN the garlic. Add the greens and toss with the flavored oil to coat them. Toss lightly for 2-3 minutes until the leaves start to wilt.

The Beans:

Add the beans. If you need a bit of moisture add the broth. Toss lightly and cover for another 2-3 minutes. DO NOT OVERCOOK the greens. You'll be tending two pans at this point so pay attention to each one separately.

While the beans are warming, remove the cover from the sausage pan, turn up the heat, and give it a quick stir. You'll need to stir frequently as the juices from the grapes reduces down to a thin syrup-like consistancy. Then shut off the heat.

By now the greens have gone limp but are still bright green and the beans are hot throughout. Shut the heat off now or you'll OVERCOOK the greens.

Mix the sausage and reduced grapes in with the beans & greens.

Serve this up in shallow bowls. Garnish with some fresh greens if you wish.

Drizzle balsamic vinegar on the top of each serving.

Makes 6 (1 cup) servings, each containing an estimated:

Cals: 421, FatCals: 254, TotFat: 28g

SatFat: 10g, PolyFat: 2g, MonoFat: 15g

Chol: 51mg, Na: 1057mg, K: 416mg

TotCarbs: 23g, Fiber: 4g, Sugars: 6g

NetCarbs: 19g, Protein: 15g

Nutrition analysis was based on smoked pork sausage & garbanzo beans. Turkey sausage would reduce some of the fat & salt. Canellini beans are lower in carbs. Feel free to substitute as your diet demands.

Adapted from a recipe in "Cuisine at Home".