Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Chard; I itch, therefore I am

I really hate it when I'm on the menu.

I may have gloated on occasion, about our lack of mosquitoes.

I may have mentioned that WE don't need insecticides to get through summer.

I may have felt superior about not needing screens on the windows, and being able to enjoy late summer evenings without constant swatting

I have been most firmly put in my place.

It happened last fall, too. My neighbor says they are août-ets: little midges that appear this time of year to torment the susceptible. ( août is French for August)

That would be me.

I'm told that they are particularly fond of back of knees, inside of elbows, ankles and hairlines.

I suppose I can be grateful that they have confined their feasting to the back of my knees.

Yesterday I had 12 welts behind one knee and 8 behind the other.

Today I had 30 behind one knee and 25 behind the other.

Yes, I counted.

My neighbor also told me that the bites last about 6 weeks.

Oh joy!

I have a lot of self control.

The itching got so bad last night that it woke me up.

But did I scratch?

Not me!

I exerted my iron will and vowed to ignore it.

But, as so often happens with people who have a lot of self control..... When it slips it's well and truly gone.

I scratched.

Hard.

Really hard.

I have long, strong nails.

I decided that I had obviously removed all of the skin from my legs and should probably get up and put on a tourniquet or something to stop the bleeding.

One of the reasons I try not to scratch is that I have quite sensitive skin. A light scratch can turn a small dot from a mosquito bite into a huge welt.

The backs of my legs looked like a relief map of a mountain range.

It was actually kind of scary.

It was also 3 in the morning.

I don't have much in the way of medicine-type stuff.

Actually all I have is a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

I decided the alcohol would hurt so, by default, I put peroxide on it.

It soothed the welts enough that I could sleep.

And, actually, didn't start itching again until about an hour ago.

We'll see how long the iron will lasts this time!

Now that summer is officially over, I'm back in the kitchen and cooking pasta.

About a month ago I decided that the chard was seriously past it's prime, and time for it to do it's part in the compost pile.

We hadn't had rain in ages and I couldn'l pull most of it out.

So I just cut it all off and figured the roots would bet roto-tilled under in the spring.

It came back.

I know have a fresh new crop of chard to use.

I'm sending this to Bellini Valli, of More Than Burnt Toast who is this week's host for Presto Pasta Nights.

She'll have a recap of all the fabulous dishes on her blog on Friday.

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain.

Wash the chard and trim any bad bits. Stack the leaves together and fold over, the long way. Slice into strips, using both leaves and stems, but keeping the stems separate as best you can. Roughly chop tomatoes. Slice sausages into 1" (2.5cm) pieces.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add paprika and sauté 1 minute. Add onion, garlic, chard stems and sauté 5 minutes or until starting to get tender. Add sausage, sage, rosemary and sauté 5 minutes longer. Add tomatoes, chard leaves, turn heat to low, cover and simmer 5 - 10 minutes or until sausages are cooked through and tomatoes have cooked down a bit.

Add drained pasta and toss to mix well. Heat through and serve.

If you'll excuse me now.... I have, er, things to do.....