Sisters in the Deep Forest Valley: Many Fun Things

after dinner.

What should we do with all this houttuynia cordata?

Lin Chunyi made a large bowl of cold salad, and there was still more than half a basket left.

They wanted to put it in their space, but they would need to dig up a lot of wild vegetables in the next few days, so their space probably wouldn't have enough room.

She suddenly remembered that in some southern regions, houttuynia cordata can be used to make soup.

So I asked my sister:

"Can you accept cooked houttuynia cordata?"

Lin Lanshan said with a look of horror:

"Where did you see this way of eating it? You cooked houttuynia cordata until it was all limp and soggy? No way, houttuynia cordata can only be eaten cold, absolutely only cold!"

"Okay, let's make another cold salad and save it for summer."

Actually, she had never eaten it before, but thinking about it, she couldn't really accept it.

"The rest, some were dried and kept to be steeped in water to drink in the summer. The rest were buried in the soil in the valley. Next year, there will be a large patch of houttuynia cordata in the valley."

Day two.

They found shepherd's purse on a flat slope.

Shepherd's purse has serrated leaf edges, and after it blooms with small white flowers, its seeds are heart-shaped, making it easy to identify.

However, the shepherd's purse is too old at this time, so it can only be dried and steeped in water to drink, which can dispel cold.

The most common way to cook tender shepherd's purse is to mix it with pork to make dumpling filling.

Lin Chunyi waved her small hand, as if she could see her own empire, and said:

"Pick them all and make shepherd's purse and pork dumplings!"

Today was another day filled with great success...

Lin Chunyi only realized she was out of pork when she was about to make dumplings.

"Lanshan, we're out of fresh pork. Wash and chop the cured pork, and we'll mix it into the filling later."

"it is good."

Lin Chunyi added warm water and a small spoonful of fine salt to the flour bowl, kneaded it into a smooth dough, and let it rest for a while.

Keep the roots of the shepherd's purse and remove the old leaves. Then soak it in salt water and rinse it clean.

Next, blanch the meat, squeeze out the excess water, chop it up, and put it in a bowl. Then add the chopped cured meat that my sister had prepared, add seasonings, and mix well.

The shepherd's purse and pork filling is ready.

She then divided the dough into evenly sized portions and rolled them into dumpling wrappers.

Lin Lanshan held the dumpling wrapper in her hand and put the filling in. Then, she used her left index finger to pinch the center of her right hand, and the cabbage-shaped dumpling was ready.

They made a lot of dumplings, cooked pot after pot, and finally used two basins to hold them all.

Shepherd's purse has a fresh, grassy aroma, its juice is thirst-quenching, and it has a tender texture.

It has a unique flavor when eaten with fragrant cured pork.

fifth day.

"Let's go and see if we can find any bracken today."

Bracken fern:

The leaves are curved like little snails. They have a light, refreshing aroma, a crisp and tender texture, and a slightly sour and astringent taste.

Lin Chunyi and her sister searched many places and finally found them in a well-lit wasteland.

They picked all the tender leaves and took them home to blanch.

Then soak it in water for a day to remove the bitterness, and then stir-fry it with cured pork belly.

The bracken fern was still soaking in water at home when they were harvested again.

No need to look this time.

The destination has been determined: the pond where we hunted wild boars, where a lot of water celery grows.

Water celery:

It often grows in wetlands, shallow marshes, and riverbanks, has a distinctive fragrance, and blooms with small, umbel-shaped white flowers.

It looks similar to celery, but it has a higher water content. It is said to have the effect of clearing heat and promoting diuresis.

However, be careful not to pick hemlock or cnidium, which look very similar to it.

This place is covered with water celery, a large patch of it, lush and green, a very pleasing sight to behold.

Of course, it's best not to eat water celery that grows in water, as it can be infested with many insects, including leeches.

So they only cut the ones in the wetlands.

They were fluffy and filled two baskets. I took them back and soaked them in salt water to kill the insects.

Then blanch it and stir-fry it with fatty cured pork.

There was still a large pile of water celery left, so we removed the leaves, spread it in a winnowing basket, and put it in the yard to dry.

Then, one ring at a time, they are placed into a clean, dry kimchi jar.

Boil another large pot of water with Sichuan peppercorns and salt, let it cool, and pour it into a pickling jar.

Add some ginger slices and garlic cloves, then pour a ring of white wine on top, cover it, and let it ferment.

In just over two weeks, we'll be able to make water celery kimchi.

They spent half a month running around digging for wild vegetables, preparing them in various ways such as cold salads and stir-fries, and collected a lot of them, storing them in their online space.

The rest were dried and stored, and last year's millet peppers were also dried.

Lin Chunyi and her sister grinned from ear to ear as they looked at the basket of bright red dried chilies.

"Sis, we finally have dried chili peppers!"

"Hmm! Let's make them into chili salt and chili oil, then we won't have to worry about making spicy dishes or eating barbecue anymore!"

Lin Chunyi added dried millet peppers, sesame seeds, peanuts, and Sichuan peppercorns to a hot pan and dry-fried them over low heat until they were dry and crispy, then let them cool.

Then pour them into a mortar and pestle and crush them, then divide them into two basins.

First, make the chili oil.

Grind half of the coarse chili powder in the bowl into a fine powder, then add minced ginger, minced garlic, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and roasted sesame seeds.

Pour in some soy sauce and stir the dry ingredients into a wet mixture.

"Sister, the scallions, ginger, and garlic are all ready, and the pot is heated up."

Lin Lanshan was extremely excited at this moment, wishing she could immediately lick a mouthful of chili powder.

Lin Chunyi poured several large spoonfuls of vegetable oil into the hot pan. Once the oil was hot, she fried the scallions, ginger, and garlic over low heat until they were charred.

Use an iron spoon to scoop up the oil from frying the ingredients and pour it over the chili powder, which will then start to sizzle and bubble.

The aroma of chili peppers filled the kitchen.

Lin Chunyi then added some salt and a little bit of white sugar, and stirred it well.

"Sister, it smells so good!"

Lin Chunyi licked the chopsticks dipped in chili oil twice. Spicy, salty, and fragrant—it was a familiar taste!

Her eyes narrowed with laughter as she said to her younger sister:

"It tastes like the chili oil from our hometown. Now we can have chili oil too! Try it."

Lin Lanshan picked up another oily chopstick and slurped it into her mouth, then cheered and jumped for joy, which was not enough to express her happiness.

Next, make chili salt.

In another bowl, grind the chili powder into a fine powder, then add salt and a little sugar.

Sprinkle a little on the meat while grilling, and it will make it smell amazing!

"It would be even better if you could add some cumin, but I don't know if they have any here."

Lin Chunyi smelled the chili salt and felt a little disappointed.

"Let's go to town in a few days. If it's not there, we'll go to the county seat."

Lin Lanshan is quite interested in going out.

"You went all the way to the county town just for a few grains of cumin? Are you serious?" Lin Chunyi exclaimed in surprise.

"What's wrong? Let's think carefully about what else we want to buy and write it all down. We can look for it slowly when we go to the county town. Last time we went to the town, we forgot a lot of things we wanted to buy."

“That’s right. Then write down the cumin, and the star anise and cinnamon that I forgot last time.”

"Oh, right, there are also beet seeds and sugarcane!"

Lin Chunyi felt extremely upset whenever she thought about how expensive sugar was here and how she had no choice but to buy it.

Before the two sisters transmigrated, one was a junior high school graduate and the other a high school graduate.

I'm used to carrying a notebook and a few pens in my bag.

Originally, it was used to write down beautiful moments and good words and phrases in daily life, to make it easier to write essays.