In my hometown, there are neither steep nor beautiful famous mountains and rivers, nor majestic or gentle rivers and famous springs. The narrow basin even seems "embarrassed", just like a humble room. Even so, the men, women and children born here are still so attached to it and never want to be far away from it in a real sense. Even if it is forced by life to go far away to seek a way out, it will rush back to its embrace when the festive season approaches, or look at it from a distance with tears in its clothes and send thoughts from afar. Perhaps this is the mystery of why such poems as "I am a stranger in a foreign land, and I miss my relatives twice during the festive season" and "I know where my brothers climb from afar, and I am missing one person everywhere".
When it comes to hometown, it is bound to be inseparable from the rural delicacies that are closely related to it. It is no exaggeration to describe it as "inseparable". As the ancients said, "Food is the most important thing for the people" is enough to prove that only by eating fireworks can we appreciate the true feelings of a lifetime. Probably from the age of five or six, I have a vague impression. Of course, most of them are closely related to a certain taste, just like being born with it.
The spring when everything revives is beautiful and agile in the poet's works, and it is also a beautiful season for the birth of life. However, for the northern mountain villages in the 197s and 198s, I am afraid that spring can only be described as "depression". Especially in the early spring, there is little food left at home, and the wheat seedlings in the field have not opened their sleeping eyes, and the threat of hunger is growing. After a deep winter attack, the wild vegetables on the hillside are still shivering in its arrogance, and dare not show their immature heads. At this time, there is only one weed hidden under the wheat seedlings-shepherd's purse, which is not afraid of the cold. The thick leaves look very attractive, and the hardworking and intelligent villagers try to use them to satisfy their hunger. After several explorations, shepherd's purse has gradually become an indispensable "food" on the table of every household, which is nothing more than mixing and frying. However, what makes people never tire of eating is cold salad, and its practice is simple. First, wash the shepherd's purse gouged out from the wheat field. Then it is cooked in boiling water. The key step is to fish the cooked shepherd's purse into a cold water basin and soak it a little, so that it won't be bitter to eat and the taste is crisp. Finally, seasoning can be made according to each person's requirements. Generally, in addition to salt and vinegar, a proper amount of pepper and pepper noodles will be added, and the smell of hot oil will naturally come to the nose, so that the population water will swirl in the mouth ... With the baptism of several Qingming rains, willows sprout new buds, wheat seedlings get up and start jointing, shepherd's purse has completed its mission, and a alfalfa bud has grown on the hillside. Alfalfa was originally a fertile forage for cattle and sheep, mowing the grass in the sky and digging the roots in winter. With it, the cattle have enough strength to plow the fields for three times and ensure the bumper harvest of food to the maximum extent. The newly sprouted alfalfa is very short and can't be used as feed, but it is perfect as a dish. Mixing with onion is a delicious side dish, and steaming with flour is a "wheat rice" to satisfy hunger, which can provide people with those difficult years.
In the summer when flowers are in full bloom, my hometown looks delicate and beautiful-bees and butterflies fly around the flowers, and wheat waves roll in, which is a real pastoral scenery. This season, the rain is gradually filling, the vegetables planted by ourselves are gradually maturing, and the dining tables of the villagers have become rich. The fresh and delicious wild vegetables, such as Sophora japonica flowers on the hillside and Equisetum japonicum on the edge of the ridge, should be especially memorable. Because of its cold tolerance and drought tolerance, Sophora japonica is a common tree species favored by people in the north. The flowers are milky white and distributed in strings. Each small flower is like a small bell, which decorates the mountain village very elegantly, just like a lady waiting for a word. Sophora japonica should be picked before it is in full bloom, and its flavor will be greatly reduced because of nectar after waiting for it to open. It is worth mentioning that Sophora japonica is mixed with flour evenly, adding appropriate amount of salt (without adding it), and finally steaming it in a steamer to serve as the staple food in the bowl, which is both sweet and delicious, and can satisfy the hunger. Apart from Sophora japonica, I'm afraid it's the horsetooth dish that is unforgettable up to now. It's also called longevity dish, and its leaves are reddish brown, so it's named because it looks like horsetooth. In midsummer, Sargassum is rich in juice, which is also the best time to eat. Most people use it to steam steamed buns. Generally, people choose to pick it by the roadside near the field early in the morning with a basket on their hands, because the vicious sun at noon will make it look like a frosted eggplant-it will fade, and the taste will definitely not be delicious. After returning home, wash it with clear water, put it on a wooden frame to drain the water, then chop it into pieces with a knife and pour it into a basin; Then add spiced powder (a seasoning), pepper powder, pepper noodles and a little salt, oil, cooking wine and other seasonings and mix well. Remember not to leave it for too long, or its juice will easily flow out, which will not only lose nutrients, but also affect the taste; Then, it is made by the housewife's skillful hand holding flowers. After more than half an hour of steam processing, juicy, spicy and exquisite steamed buns are out of the pot, and a bite will definitely make your taste buds explode. It is said that Sargassum also has the effects of clearing away heat and toxic materials, cooling blood and stopping bleeding, which not only solves the problem of food and clothing, but also keeps healthy, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
In autumn in my hometown, there are fragrant fruits, flaming sorghum and sweet birds singing ... In the harvest season, even if the harvest is not good, it is not a problem to eat your stomach for the time being, but the vegetables on the table are less and less with the falling leaves. Poor land and poor life can't give villagers more nutrition or delicious food, which on the other hand stimulates their wisdom and strength. While cooking some vegetables, such as beans, and drying them for later use, we continue to look for other alternative wild vegetables in the wilderness. Small garlic appeared in BLACKPINK during this period. It mostly grows in sandy loam with soft geology, and the floodplains and dams are more common. From a distance, you can smell a smell like onion and garlic. It looks like a small garlic seedling now, with a spherical rhizome and no petals. Small garlic, also known as small root garlic, grows far away from the village. Basically, it is dug or gouged with its own tools during grazing, tied with vines and taken home to eat. Perhaps, its taste is too spicy, and the cold salad is less. Most of them choose to fry, and the practice is also simple, either alone or with tofu, clear and plain, which is enough to show the taste of life at that time. As far as I can remember, the pungent smell of small garlic tofu in frying is irresistible, which can be described by the word "drill". Even in a distant place, you can smell its fragrance and admire its taste. After all, tofu was a "luxury" at that time. If you have self-produced soybeans, you can go to the workshop for some tofu. If you don't, you can't enjoy this delicious food. Even so, it can't stop people from digging for delicious food. Picking a few dried peppers, soaking them in hot water, chopping them, and then frying them with garlic is still a rare product, which means better-the days are getting more and more prosperous.
In the snowy season, my hometown gradually becomes quiet and peaceful, except for a few sparrows singing occasionally, there is silence everywhere. People often say that "the snow will bring good harvest". Admittedly, the thick snow indicates a bumper harvest in the coming year, and at the same time it has caused new difficulties to the villagers' lives. Snow and snow not only brought biting cold, but also plundered the green of the countryside, and the food on the table became more and more simple. At this time, those housewives who are prepared for a rainy day will collect the dried vegetables such as dried gray vegetables and dried beans, soak them in hot water, add seasonings or stir-fry them, and eat them chewy and delicious. It not only keeps the original flavor of vegetables, but also adds a sense of vicissitudes of life, which can be regarded as a seasonal dish. White radish is a rare "fresh-keeping" vegetable in northern rural areas in winter, which is stored in the anti-freezing pits dug in front of the house or in the fields until the Spring Festival. Usually, it is used for shredded cold salad, or chopped into stuffing to wrap jiaozi and steamed stuffed buns, which are either crisp, sweet and refreshing, or thick and fragrant. At that time, I was most looking forward to the Chinese New Year. Only when the Spring Festival is near, can I eat the mouth-watering stewed radish. It is actually "cooking", commonly known as "cooking radish". Dig out the radish that is still green and white from the pit, wash it with spring water and cut it into diamond-shaped pieces the size of walnuts; Then boil a pot of hot water to cook the radish thoroughly, take it out and pour it into a cold water basin to remove the spicy taste; Next, cook the pork ready for the New Year. Of course, the meat can't be eaten casually. It should be reserved for guests. The soup with cooked meat is the necessary partner of this dish. Continue to boil the broth in the pot, pour in the soaked radish pieces, and simmer until the taste of the soup is soaked all over you. The soft and crispy food is finished. It is really delicious when paired with baked wheat cake or steamed bread. I don't know how many wanderers are buried in the homesickness ...
My hometown, my hometown, is not as fascinating as the small town in the south of the Yangtze River with a small bridge and flowing water, nor as fascinating as the grassland in the north. It is just an ordinary small mountain village, with a low earth mountain, a narrow river and a group of hardworking and kind children, who constantly create unique delicacies in a hard life and persist in exploring warm happiness in a barren land, tirelessly passed down from generation to generation.