After harvesting the pumpkins, it’s time to stock up on winter vegetables. The whole family has to get busy for the winter.
With the continuous improvement of people's living conditions in later generations, the custom of stocking winter vegetables in autumn is not only rarely seen anymore, but also rarely talked about. It is only mentioned when reminiscing.
In later generations, due to convenient transportation and greenhouse technology, even in the cold winter, a variety of fresh vegetables were supplied to the market for Chinese people to choose and enjoy. Therefore, except for some special periods, Zhang Yu really didn’t do much
I stocked up on groceries and bought them when I ate them.
Because he has started to work now, my sister-in-law thinks that as he grows up, it is time to learn some life skills, so she has called him to join her since she started stocking up on vegetables. Of course, others have not been left behind.
Although the supply may not be that sufficient this year due to some reasons, the supply in Beijing is pretty good. Although not as much as in previous years, it is still pretty good for this year.
This time period should be the busiest in Beijing, with people queuing up everywhere and mountains of cabbage everywhere.
People line up to buy Chinese cabbage early every morning, and it is very lively with people coming and going.
"This Chinese cabbage is the specialty dish of us old Beijingers. We rely on this cabbage throughout the winter and spring." Zhang Guifang pointed to the pile of cabbage in front of her.
By the time Zhang Yu and his sister-in-law came to the vegetable station with the vouchers for buying cabbage, the queue had already reached a long way.
Seeing this, my sister-in-law gave the voucher to Zhang Yu and said, "Xiaoyu, you wait in line here first, and I'll go see what else is available in other places. Okay, let's buy it together."
"Okay, sister-in-law, you go ahead."
Looking at the long queue, Zhang Yu felt that he might not be able to get in line today. Just when he was about to give up, a seven or eight-year-old child suddenly ran past him and said to an aunt in the queue in front of him: "Mom.
, don’t wait in line here, we have set up sales points of Chinese cabbage at the entrance of the alley and on the roadside, and they will start selling them immediately. My brother is queuing up there, let me call you."
"Let's go, let's go!" After hearing this, the lady in front stopped waiting in line, picked up her things and trotted towards the alley.
After hearing this, several people nearby gave up queuing and ran toward the alley entrance.
Zhang Yu relied on the results of his recent morning jogging to get ahead of many others and ranked higher in the queue.
But because the queue was quite far at first, my sister-in-law and the others thought it would take a long time, so they didn’t ask him to bring the cabbage bag, and planned to wait a while before delivering it to him.
But after changing the queue, it will be his turn soon. If he goes home to get it now, he won't be able to queue up when he comes back. If he doesn't go back to get it, he won't have anything to pack.
Just when Zhang Yu felt in a dilemma, he saw the children playing next to him. He happened to know one of them, so he shouted loudly: "Qi Gang, Qi Gang, come here."
"Uncle Xiao Yu, why are you calling me?" Qi Gang, who was playing with a group of friends, heard someone calling him. He looked up and saw that it was Uncle Xiao Yu in the yard, and ran over like a dang.
"Go to the yard and call someone for me. When you get back, look at who is in my house. Call whoever is home and ask them to come over with the things they need to buy cabbage. Tell them it's my turn soon."
As he spoke, he used the cover of his pocket to take out a few candies and put them in his hand, "This is a reward from Uncle Xiao Yu."
Qi Gang looked at the candy in his hand and immediately put it in his pocket, "Uncle Xiao Yu, I'm the fastest runner. Just wait for me, I'll be back soon." He said to his friend and started to run back.
"By the way, when you go back, shout in the courtyard that cabbage has started to be sold at the entrance of our alley, and ask everyone in the courtyard to come over quickly. If you are late, you won't be able to get there." Zhang Yu thought of something else.
, gave an instruction loudly.
"Okay," the voice came, and the child had already run far away.
After a while, my uncle and eldest brother Zhao Feng came over with a floor cart, and they happened to be in line with him. They took the purchase vouchers of the whole family and bought a whole cart of cabbage.
The eldest brother was pulling in the front, and he and his uncle were pushing behind. They brought it to the house and put it first at the door, ready to dry in a sunny place for a few more days, and then put it under the eaves of the house. Cover it with a few more layers of straw curtains.
Eat for the whole winter.
My sister-in-law came back at this time, looked at the cabbage they bought and said in surprise: "Xiaoyu, are you in line soon?"
"No, I heard someone said that there was a temporary sales point at the entrance of the alley near us, so I ran over there quickly. It's just in time."
"Tell me, how come it's so fast!" After Zhang Guifang finished speaking, she took a piece of cabbage, patted it with satisfaction, pinched it, pinched it a few times, and said, "The cabbage you bought today is pretty good, I think it's quite big.
Yes, it's solid. I pinched it just now and it's crispy and juicy. It will definitely be delicious when you eat it."
Seeing that my sister-in-law was in a good mood, Zhang Yu said, "Sister-in-law, does this cabbage taste the best when used as stuffing for dumplings? Let's eat dumplings today."
"Yes, yes, it would be a pity not to eat dumplings with such good cabbage." The eldest brother also echoed from the side. He knew that as soon as Xiaoyu opened his mouth, his mother would probably agree.
"Okay, then you go get some cabbage and I'll make some stuffing. Let's eat dumplings stuffed with cabbage today."
With that said, Zhang Guifang began to wash her hands and prepare tools for chopping stuffing.
Zhang Yu took out a pound of meat from the kitchen and placed it in front of his sister-in-law: "Dang-dang-dang, sister-in-law, what do you think this is?"
"When did you buy it? I didn't even get in line yesterday morning." Looking at the meat on the chopping board, Zhang Guifang was a little happy. She knew that she had planned to have a good meal while storing winter vegetables since last week, but because
Due to supply problems, we haven't been able to get meat.
"My colleague queued up at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning yesterday and got a total of 3 kilograms of meat. But he just met someone and needed a ticket. Wouldn't he give me 1 kilogram in exchange for it?" I knew my sister-in-law would ask,
So this is indeed the case, and he happened to have extra cloth tickets.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Zhang Guifang originally only planned to cut out a part and put it into the cabbage stuffing. Zhang Yu chewed the flower seeds after seeing it. If there is anything else he is not used to, that is
People in this era attach great importance to meat. One pound of meat has to be eaten several times.
"Sister-in-law, please put them all in. There's not much anyway." She said and took the remaining meat from her and chopped it up.
A meal of dumplings stuffed with cabbage and pork made the whole family satisfied.
There are still a few days of busy work ahead and a lot of things need to be stored.
In addition to cabbage, radish and winter melon are also important items that need to be stored.
There are also all kinds of pickles, which need to be done by my sister-in-law herself. The few of them can't pickle them with that kind of flavor, so they can only do it on the side.
The family has been very busy these past two days. They have been preparing the materials needed for pickles. Buying vegetables and making pickles is a laborious task and requires the whole family to work together.
After all, these pickles are the food for the whole year, especially in winter, except for cabbage and radishes, all the rest depends on these pickles.
Just imagine, in the cold winter, when it is freezing and snowy, one morning, you reluctantly come out of your warm bed, shivering.
Scoop a bowl of hot rice porridge from the pot, and then take out a small plate of pickles from the pot. Because the porridge is too hot, you need to drink it in circles, then put a small pickle into your mouth, and immediately
The whole person is satisfied, and the taste is like a touch of sunshine in winter, refreshing and warm.
After the first frost, the moisture in the vegetables has reduced a lot, and the taste of the pickled vegetables will be much better at this time.
"Xiaoyu, do you still have salt at home?" Zhang Guifang turned to Zhang Yu and asked.
"There are still more than two kilograms, I don't know if it is enough?" Zhang Yu went back to the house and looked at the large salt in the cupboard. It was the same salt he bought for pickled fish last time. There was not much left.
"It's not enough. We need to finish marinating the food here today." She pointed to the washed vegetables and put them at the door to control the water.
"Then I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some more." Zhang Yu wiped the water on his hands from washing vegetables and prepared to go out.
I happened to bump into my uncle who was coming back from get off work and asked, "Xiaoyu, what are you going to do?"
"I'm making pickles at home today. I don't have enough salt at home."
"I brought it back." Zhao Wenzhuo raised the cloth bag in his hand, and then continued: "I thought that the pickles at home today must require a lot of salt, so when I passed by the supply and marketing cooperative after get off work, I brought it back with my hand. .”
After saying that, he put the bicycle away and took the big salt in his hand to ask his sister-in-law for credit.
"Look what I brought?"
Seeing the big salt that Zhao Wenzhuo brought, Zhang Guifang gave him a rare compliment: "Oh, the sun is coming out to the west today? There is actually something in my eyes!"
"Isn't this because you are busy these two days?" Zhao Wenzhuo was a little embarrassed. Because of work, he really didn't take care of his family much, and he felt a little guilty about this.
"Okay, okay, let's see how the water control of the vegetables is going. Once dry, prepare to marinate." Seeing her husband's guilty expression, Zhang Guifang quickly changed the subject.
In fact, he did a good enough job. When his eldest brother and sister-in-law were serving in the army, he always encouraged and supported her. Especially after the two of them died, he was the one who pulled her out of the grief of losing her family.
Even Xiaoyu was taught and loved as if he were his own child, silently guarding the family in a corner that he couldn't see.
I thought about it and patted my face. Is it true that I am old? I tend to think randomly. There are so many things to do, so I don't have time to think.
The large and small tanks used for pickling pickles were moved out yesterday by my elder brother during the good weather, cleaned and dried. Now they are neatly placed under the eaves, waiting for my sister-in-law to use them.
The first thing to pickle was cucumbers. When Zhang Yu went to the countryside to purchase a few days ago, he happened to encounter several families cleaning cucumber seedlings. He saw that there were still many small cucumbers on them, so he replaced them.
Those families thought they had other dishes, so they didn't care much about these little cucumbers. Now that someone wanted to change them, they readily agreed.
At this time, Zhang Guifang looked at the large basket full of small cucumbers. Although they looked crooked, they were delicious when pickled.
"Mom, why are these cucumbers so ugly?" Zhao Xiaoping looked at the dried cucumbers and said to her sister-in-law.
"Why is it so ugly? This kind of cucumber is perfect for pickling." Zhang Guifang replied angrily, then turned to Zhang Yu and said: "Xiaoyu, don't listen to your sister's nonsense. This time, you can buy the cucumber.
By the way, even though it doesn’t look very good, it tastes better if it’s pickled like this.”
Then he continued to educate Zhao Xiaoping: "Not only are these cucumbers cheap, but they also have no seeds, making them crispier and taste better when pickled."
After pickling the pickled cucumbers, my sister-in-law also pickled the sauerkraut. She peeled off the excess cabbage stems from the Chinese cabbage she bought that day, and after the leaves rotted, she ran the cabbage hearts through hot water and placed them directly in the vegetable vat.
After pouring the long-cooled rice soup into the vegetable jar, close the lid of the vegetable jar, press it with a big stone, and then wait for time to catalyze it and eat it.
Of course, the peeled cabbage was not wasted. I made some at noon. I cut the cabbage into shreds and mixed it with vinegar and chili. It tasted pretty good.
By the way, I also made a lot of the more important porridge.
In winter, when you have a little leisure time, you can buy some meat, chop it into minced meat, and use it to stir-fry snow mustard, or make snow mustard buns with hot rice porridge. The taste makes people want to eat it just thinking about it.
Drooling.
My sister-in-law's method of pickling mustard seeds is relatively simple. Spread a layer of mustard seeds and a layer of salt evenly in the jar, and then spread them layer by layer. After everything is spread, sprinkle a layer of salt on the jar to seal it.
.
After finishing, Zhang Guifang straightened up, patted the salt particles on her hands and said, "It's done, just put the lid on."
"Sister-in-law, is this good?" Zhang Yu had eaten a lot of delicacies made from potherb mustard in later generations, but he had never seen how to pickle it. He always thought it would be troublesome, but he never expected that it would be like this.
Simple.
"Then what's so difficult about it? You can eat it after a month. Then I'll make some snow-sweet potato buns for you to eat."
The next day, Zhang Guifang pickled radishes, mustard greens and a lot of other things.
Especially the mustard dumplings. Because it was not easy to buy this year, I managed to buy some. Zhang Guifang treated them very carefully. Instead of marinating them whole like in previous years, they marinated them very carefully and even added radishes.
Wash, trim off the hair on both sides of the lower half, cut into thick shreds and boil in boiling water. Mix the shredded radish and mustard sticks together while it is hot, and simmer in a sealed container.
"Mom, how long should it be simmered?" Zhao Xiaoping is the only girl among several children. My sister-in-law thought it was time for her to learn some housekeeping skills, so she pulled her over and started working on the side.
The other is to let her learn from the side.
"Simmer it for a day or two, and when you open it you can smell the pungent aroma."