newbobooks Chapter 367 Melon Seeds and Salt
Chapter 367 Melon Seeds and Salt
Unfortunately, there are not many radishes left in the cellar, and many of them have rotted. I must open a few more vegetable plots next year. The winter is so long, and so few vegetables will not be enough to eat. It is better to plant cabbage and radishes in the whole vegetable plot in autumn.
We ate a few pieces of radish and a piece of beef brisket. It was meaty and tendony, soft, glutinous and fragrant, with a strong beef flavor. It tasted very good. Except for the beef tripe last time and the braised beef that the old man cut from the market from time to time, this was the first time the family had eaten beef, and it tasted really good. They had eaten a lot of meat, including a lot of tender venison and roe deer. Although the beef didn't taste that tender, the taste was not bad.
Even the radish inside is so delicious, better than stewing it with other meats. I don’t know if it’s because it’s hung over the fire.
The old man loved this dish. He had always eaten the best beef before, and he looked down on beef with such tendons. But he didn't expect that it would taste even better when stewed like this. He enjoyed every bite and said, "Actually, this dish is better with rice, especially the soup. I can eat four bowls of it in one go when I pour it over the rice and mix it with the soup."
I’m getting older and can’t eat much at each meal. When I was young, I could eat five or six bowls of rice at one meal, but now I can only eat three bowls.
Zhou Guo smiled and said, "Master, you really know how to eat. Tomorrow is the New Year's Day. We will steam half a bucket of rice. Those who want to eat steamed buns can eat steamed buns, and those who want to eat rice can eat rice."
She also regretted that such a dish should be served with rice, as the soup cooked later was the soul of the dish.
Zhou Xing picked up some cabbage and pressed it into the soup base.
The cooked cabbage leaves are the most popular, but no one likes to eat the cabbage stems.
Only Zhou Guoai threw the torn vegetable stems in and turned it to the bottom.
When the cabbage stems are cooked, they turn from white to translucent and become soft. When you scoop them up, they taste almost like radishes, unlike the leaves, which cannot absorb the flavor of the soup. The cabbage stems are different. Just like radishes, they will taste like whatever vegetable they are cooked with. She can eat them all by herself.
Everyone was very satisfied with the dinner. They sat comfortably by the fire pit, rubbing their stomachs and not wanting to move for a while. This was the best meal they had had in more than a month. It was indeed the New Year, and there were so many delicious foods.
Zhou Gu chuckled and said, "Chinese New Year is great. There are so many delicious foods and new clothes to wear. It would be great if it was Chinese New Year every day."
Although the others didn't say this, the smiles on their faces and eyes showed that they thought the same.
Li laughed at their wishful thinking, "Who wouldn't want to celebrate Chinese New Year every day and live such a good life every day? Do you think it's possible?"
"Maybe!" everyone answered in unison.
Li looked at them speechlessly, "How dare you think of such a thing!"
Zhou Guo counted on his fingers and said, "Mom, look, half a year ago, when our family hadn't started to flee, what was the situation like? Dad and uncle had to go out to find work as soon as the busy farming season was over. As a result, in just half a year, our family has been able to eat meat every day. Of course, this is all thanks to Master, but Master is now a member of our family. So you see, it's not that we dare to imagine, but no one can predict what the future will be like. Maybe we can really live a life where every day is New Year's Day. After all, I have so many capable brothers, such a capable sister, and a mother who is in charge of everything..."
When he said this, he felt his sleeves being pulled, and he smiled: "Of course, there is also such a smart and clever younger brother, and the uncle who has become a small leader. Of course, the most important thing is that there is also the biggest contributor who allows our family to eat meat every meal, my master, who is a martial artist who can fight in the battlefield and kill the enemy. He also knows astronomy and geography, and is a man of both civil and military talents..."
“Hey hey hey!” The old man quickly knocked on the bowl to stop him. He couldn’t hold his face after being praised so much. “Stop talking nonsense. I’m almost turning into an old monster because of what you said. If I were so capable, I would have passed the imperial examination long ago. How could I still be your master here? I’m afraid I wouldn’t even care about knowing you if you passed by me. Just cry.”
Everyone laughed.
Zhou Guo laughed and said, "Master, it's New Year's Day, you have to say something nice. Although you are not as good as I said, you are not far behind. Except for not knowing a few words, you know everything else."
As he spoke, he began to count on his fingers, "Look, you know the very expensive fruits that we all know, you also know martial arts, hunting, preparing medicinal herbs, saltpetering leather, making roast suckling pig, roasting fish and meat, knowing pine mushrooms, you can sew your own clothes, and you can even make shoes..."
Everyone gradually stopped laughing. They really didn't realize that the old man knew so many things!
Zhou Guo finally said, "Look, you know so much. I haven't even mentioned your old profession that you've been doing for so many years. You can escort people and have a wide range of knowledge! Anyway, you're amazing."
The old man threw a peanut into his mouth, his beard twitching. After listening, he nodded seriously and said, "It's quite impressive, but no matter how impressive you are, you still have to eat. You have to ensure that you have three meals a day!"
After all, real life is the most comfortable.
No one understood. They didn't know how such a serious matter could be related to three meals a day, and no one dared to ask.
After cleaning up the dishes, Zhou Xing started to light the fire.
Zhou Guo and a few others moved the peanuts and melon seeds out from the kang in the inner room. The melon seeds they bought had not been fried, so they had to fry them themselves. Although they were edible this way, they were much more delicious after being fried.
She took out the finely pounded coarse salt, poured half the melon seeds into the pot, and then poured the coarse salt in as if it was free.
Others looked puzzled.
"What's this for? Why do you need to add salt when frying melon seeds? This is not a dish!"
Zhou Guo waved the spatula repeatedly, and the melon seeds were flipped up and down and left and right in the boiling pot. He explained, "I thought it might taste better if I added salt. The main thing is that these melon seeds have no taste."
Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What flavor do melon seeds have? They will smell good when they are fried until dry. If you add salt, it will only stick to the shell, but not inside."
Zhou Su also stood by the pot and watched. Seeing that no one agreed with her sister, she said, "Mom, there is still salt even if there is no water in it. Just sift out the salt and it will be fine."
Everyone looked into the pot and saw that the salt was still distinct grains, mixed in with the black melon seeds. It was particularly eye-catching and looked quite nice.
Zhou Mai said, "Fry the melon seeds with salt, maybe they will taste good. I must try it."
Everyone is waiting.
The first pot of fried melon seeds was placed in a sieve to sift out the salt, and then Zhou Guo started to fry the next pot.
Everyone tasted it and their eyes lit up. It seemed that it tasted better with salt added?