Restful Friday and Leeks with Polish Sausage

I called in sick, again, today.  Have I mentioned that I am blessed to have paid sick leave and an understanding supervisor?

After I called and spoke to my supervisor, I went back to bed and slept practically the whole morning!  I woke up at 11:30 a.m. and resisted the urge to go back to sleep.  I had a cup of tea and chatted with daughter for a bit.  Later in the afternoon, my gardener came to do the garden.  He fertilized the roses and newly planted peach tree (which has 2 tiny peaches forming on it!) and mulched the front rose bed.  He also brought me several plants for my garden - lots of succulents and an orchid!

I didn't feel like having any breakfast or lunch, but, around 4:00 p.m., I began to feel a little hungry, which is a good sign, as it means I'm feeling better.  But, I didn't feel like eating the last of the Spanish rice and chicken breast that I had packed up, last night, to take to the office for my lunch, today.  So, I decided to do some cooking.   I cooked some fresh rice and made the leeks with Polish sausage.

I had bought 3 leeks; below is just one of them:

Whole Leek

 First step is to cut off the root end and clean the leek.  Then, slice finely:

Sliced Finely

 Next step: wash the sliced leeks - there's quite a bit of fine soil particles clinging to leeks, so it's important to wash them well.  I rinsed the leeks in 3 changes of water to make sure all the grit is gone.  Then, I drained them in a colander:

Washed and Drained

 While the leeks drained, I sliced the Polish sausage:

Polish Sausage, Sliced

 And sauted the slices of sausage:

Sausage Slices Sauteing

Then, I removed the slices of sausage and added the sliced leeks to the saute pan.  If you are vegetarian, or wish to cook the leeks without the addition of sausages, then, skip the sauteing of the sausages and saute the leeks in a bit of vegetable oil. 

I added spices to my leeks - mostly chili powder, a little cardamon and cinnamon, a little lemon juice, and a little salt:

Leeks with Spices

 Sorry, no measurements, because I rarely, if ever, measure anything when I cook.  Drives my daughter crazy!

Leeks Sauteing, Midway

 I saute the leeks until they are well cooked.  They reduce quite a bit in volume, once cooked:

Almost Done

 If you are vegetarian, or wish to have the leeks by themselves, then, the leeks are ready to be eaten, at this point.  However, I like to add the sauted Polish sausage slices to my leeks and I cook it for a few more minutes:

Sausages Added

I never used to like leeks, and so, didn't cook them for the longest time.  But, one day, my daughter ate some leeks a friend of mine cooked, and she liked them and asked why I don't make them.  So, I started to cook them and decided that the addition of Polish sausages will make them more palatable for me.  Today's version, however, was so good that I probably could have eaten them on their own, with the rice, without the addition of the sausage.  Sometimes, I add potatoes to the mixture, as well, but I didn't have any potatoes on hand, today.

Dinner is Ready

Dinner was eaten in record time!  LOL.  There's more left for future meals, as well.

I forgot to write down my gratitude list, yesterday; today's list include 2 things I have already listed earlier (paid sick leave and an understanding supervisor):

- Paid sick leave (again)
- Understanding supervisor (again)
- Feeling better
- Free plants for the garden

- Caring friends

How was your Friday?  Do you eat leeks?  If so, how do you cook them?