The Garden Life of a Little Gardener

When Zhou Quan and the others returned to the second floor, Chef Bao was making pancakes in the outhouse.

Duck egg-yellow cornmeal is mixed with a certain proportion of white flour and eggs. After adding water and reconciling, scoop up a ball in the palm of your hand, control the strength and angle, and instantly pick it up on the wall of the hot iron pot.

With a bang, an oval-shaped pancake appeared on the wall of the pot, and this was repeated until the sides of the round iron pan were covered with pancakes.

Chef Bao's movements are smooth and beautiful, and he only took a few minutes to put all the pancakes on the iron pan.

Then cover the pan and wait for the pancakes to be cooked. Probably until there are so many people coming, one pot of pancakes is definitely not enough. He has already made two pans in advance and put them in the steamer to warm them.

Seeing that everyone was coming, Chef Bao wiped his hands, cleaned up the cornmeal sticking to it, and said, "The cooked meals are in the kitchen, you can just take them out. After I finish frying the peppers, we can cook them." dinner time."

After talking, Chef Bao entered the kitchen, Zhou Quan followed behind him and asked if he needed help.

Chef Bao, who was boiling the oil, pointed to the not-too-distant place, and said that he had prepared several kinds of peppers in good proportions and said, "Help me stir these fried dried peppers into crushed peppers."

Hearing this, Zhou Quan took out the juicer at home, replaced the box on it with one for ground meat, and threw the dozen or so fried dried chilies into it.

There are only dozens of peppers, but Zhouquan finds that there are at least four or five varieties in them, some are more and some are less, but Zhouquan doesn't know any of them.

The only one that looks familiar is the one with the largest number of them, the small, pointed red peppers that were once planted in their yard, called Chaotianjiao.

Although he didn't major in agriculture, Zhou Quan graduated from an agricultural college. He could only recognize one of the four or five kinds of peppers, so he was ashamed to say it.

Chef Bao, who was standing in front of the stove and heating the oil pan, looked at Faxiao's dejected look, pursed his lips and said, "The thin and long one is Erchatia, not very spicy but full of fragrance. The darker one That one is Shizhu Chaotianhong. It is the hottest chili variety in China. It is highly spicy and dry-tempered. It is very suitable for making the base. The red chili in Tuo County is red and fragrant, but not too spicy. My good assistant, as well as Xiaochaotianhong, which we are most familiar with, the chili oil that is fried after frying these peppers according to the proportion will be spicy, delicious and bright in color.”

While speaking, Zhou Quan’s crushed chili was ready, and the oil temperature over there was also heated to a suitable temperature. Chef Bao sprinkled a layer of white sesame seeds on top of the crushed pepper, and poured hot oil into it while stirring with chopsticks.

Sizzling, sizzling, the hot oil blends quickly with the chopped peppers in the pot, and the fragrant smell immediately fills the whole kitchen.

Bao Erlong, who came out to get the bowls and chopsticks, sniffled his nose and searched for the smell, watching the freshly fried chili oil in Chef Bao's bowl while guarding the door.

The last ingredient of the mutton soup was finally finished, and everyone sat around the Zhou family's kang table with a round table top.

The freshly made mutton soup has the original taste, and everything depends on the ingredients added later to adjust the taste. Chef Bao cut the lamb tripe and lamb head meat separately and served them separately, so that everyone can add whatever they like.

The mutton soup in the town is divided into two types: mutton soup and mutton soup. The mutton soup is the kind that Chef Bao is making now, and the mutton soup needs to add lungs, sheep intestines and sheep blood.

Baojia can make both the first and the second, but Zhouquan prefers to drink mutton soup, which is too strong for him.

According to the rules of the village, the first bowl of mutton soup must be given to the oldest person on the table, and the younger generations can only eat after the old lady moves the chopsticks.

The mutton soup is in the pot, and whoever wants to drink it can come out and accept it.

You can add lamb tripe and lamb head meat that are stewed until soft according to your own taste. Zhouquan loves lamb tripe, so he adds less head meat, and then comes to the lamb soup pot.

The thick mutton soup is scooped up and poured into a bowl. After a long time of cooking, the soup has begun to break away from the category of water, and its thickness can be compared with that of milk soup.

The mutton soup poured into the bowl is not only hanging on the wall but also drawing threads. Zhou Quan estimates that if the temperature in the soup pot drops, the essence inside will even form a layer of oily skin.

After the soup is ready, sprinkle fresh coriander and chopped shallots into the bowl, add an appropriate amount of salt and a small amount of monosodium glutamate, and a little pepper to remove the smell.

The last thing is the pot of chili oil carefully fried by Chef Bao. I have seen Zhou Quan in the kitchen before. Don’t look at the small pot of chili oil that looks inconspicuous. If you dare to underestimate the contents, you may eat a lot deficit.

Zhou Quan, who doesn't like spicy food, sprinkled a few drops of chili oil into the soup bowl, and the milky white soup immediately glowed bright red.

The soup is white, light green, red oil spicy, these are the basic requirements for a bowl of small town mutton soup.

On this basis, Baojia's mutton soup must be thick in the mouth, smooth in the throat, and warm in the stomach.

Holding the bowl of mutton soup that he had been waiting for all day and night, smelling the intoxicating smell, Zhou Quan didn't even want to wait for the few steps he walked into the house, so he lowered his head and blew, and took a small sip.

The first mouthful is the sticky gelatinous feeling, the umami taste is mixed with the fragrance of shallots and coriander, full of the taste of spring.

But soon the viscous became silky, and the soup didn't even need to be swallowed, it slid down the mouth to the throat.

At this time, the hot pepper in the soup mixed with the spicy red oil rushed straight to his forehead, making Zhouquan cough a few times.

As the mutton soup entered the stomach, it was just a small mouthful, which made Zhou Quan's forehead feel sweaty and warm. It really deserves to be Baojia's mutton soup.

Bao Erlong, who eats spicy food, passed by Zhou Quan with a soup bowl, glanced at his soup bowl casually, and then said with a smile: "What's wrong, Ah Quan? There is only a little bit of spicy oil in the bowl? Didn't you love the most treasures before?" Is it the chili oil fried by Brother Yan? It is said to be best eaten with rice."

Hearing this, Zhou Quan looked into Bao Erlong's soup bowl and found that it was covered with a layer of red. Zhou Quan, who had just experienced this red oil and knew the strength of this red oil, quickly warned: "This spicy oil is improved by Brother Bao Yan. Yes, I eat unusually, you better be careful."

Bao Erlong, who claimed to be very good at eating spicy food, said not too concerned after hearing the words: "It's okay, I can eat spicy food, if you don't believe me, take a look."

To prove his words, Bao Erlong lowered his head to the soup bowl and took a big mouthful.

Zhou Quan looked at him nervously, and saw that he first had a look of enjoyment, then suddenly changed color, and coughed loudly.

The big cousin who was putting the red oil hesitated for a moment when he saw this, and shook his wrist calmly, half of the full spoonful of spicy oil was shaken off.

After that, the uncle, who also couldn’t wait to go back to the house, took a sip from the bowl, and then said intoxicatedly: "Warming the inside and dispelling cold, dispelling dampness and sweating, it is indeed Baojia's mutton soup, it still tastes the same, it's just This chili oil is more powerful."

At this time, Zhou Quan couldn't help but take a second sip, because he had already prepared himself, Zhou Quan had already adapted to the momentum.

Enjoying the lingering and rushing feeling, Zhou Quan couldn't help saying a slogan: "The entrance is soft, the throat is smooth."

The uncle who was good at wine said in a daze when he heard the words: "It seems to be true."

Everyone returned to the dining table with their soup bowls. In addition to the mutton soup pancakes, there were side dishes prepared by Chef Bao on the dining table.

Tomatoes and cucumbers mixed with sugar, the most tempting dish is the side dish of cold meat from the mutton leg bones.

In order to complete the mutton soup, the mutton bones and mutton in the pot of soup contributed almost all of them.

Because of a good pot of soup, the mutton has almost no seasoning, but after Chef Bao's skillful hand, the bland mutton has also become a delicacy.

Chef Bao put together the dismantled mutton, shredded onion, and shredded cabbage, mixed them with light soy sauce, oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, sesame oil, and teriyaki sauce to make a sauce, poured it directly on top, and mixed it After mixing well, it is a refreshing cold dish with a little Japanese style.

The delicious sauce fully highlights the taste of the ingredients. The tasteless mutton is sublimated immediately after being stained with the sauce. With the crispness of the cabbage heart and the spicy sweetness of the onion, it is appetizing and refreshing.

Take a sip of mutton soup, take a bite of flatbread, and mix the mutton with vegetables with chopsticks. The original soup turns into the original food.

People who ate this meal came in with their waists straight, and went out with their stomachs. Even if they ate until they hiccupped, they still couldn't help thinking about the next meal in their minds.

Zhou Quan sent away relatives and friends who ate and drank well, and then sent Chef Bao to the old house, returned to the West Room on the second floor of his home, climbed onto the kang and drew down the curtains.

Staring intently at the two pots of fluorescent plants on the windowsill, Zhouquan raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are you two still planning to whitewash me?"

The two potted plants on the windowsill continued to pretend to be dead, without giving Zhou Quan any response.

"Okay, since you insist that there is nothing special, then I don't need to pay special attention to you in the future. What about fertilizing and watering, if you think about it, just forget it."

Hearing what the master said, the already petite Yinxing Chlorophytum began to hum again.

The asparagus bamboo on the side immediately exploded when it heard the sound, and it was really fried. The thin, fluffy leaf bases on the branches all turned up, exactly like the fried cat.

After a few beeps, Silver Star Chlorophytum, who still believed in the master, responded first.

The little thing with a round face and baby voice crawled out from among the long leaves of Chlorophytum, straightened the crooked wide belt around his waist, looked at Zhou Quan pitifully and said: "Master, don't be angry, Alan has already come out. "

With the appearance of little Alan, asparagus on the other side also reacted.

The beautiful young man in long robes and wide sleeves hastily jumped up from the asparagus bamboo, landed on the spider plant, blocked little Alan behind him, clenched his fists and watched Zhou Quan nervously.