When I came back from going out, may day had just passed. On the hillside of my hometown, locust trees were in full bloom. The large clusters of locust flowers, snow-white, look from a distance, like a floating white cloud, and like white snow, inlaid on the soil slope at the foot of Qiao mountain. It's a pity that I missed a delicious opportunity to taste the food made of locust this year, because the delicious food with hometown flavor can only be made with non blooming or slightly blooming locust flowers.
The flowering hillside, called Wulipo, is located in the southernmost part of Qiao mountain. It is my childhood paradise. Since I was a teenager, I have been herding sheep and cutting firewood on the slope, accompanied by the clear cry of birds and the happy cry of sheep. My friends are chasing and playing on the lush grass; Or lying on the soft grass, watching the white clouds floating in the wind, changing all kinds of beautiful patterns; Or in winter, three or five groups, carrying baskets on their backs, go to the slope to cut firewood and prepare for their families to cook. When the sun tilts to the west, they have packed a full basket and go home talking and laughing along the narrow slope path. Or in the summer wheat harvest season, catch a grasshopper, put it in a cage made of wheat straw and hang it in the farmhouse's courtyard to add a sense of happiness; Or in late autumn, friends invite each other to pick the starry wild chrysanthemums and pin the yellow gold flowers on their heads and collars to deduce a kind of childlike fun.
At that time, there was no Acacia forest on the hillside. In addition to the clumps of green grass, there are only a few crooked old trees with thin and bony stems and bare branches. They are like several experienced old people watching here. In the 1970s, acacia trees were introduced from there. Overnight, they were planted all over the corners of Wulipo. The newly planted seedlings were thin and weak. After a year of growth, the tree grew crazy, the branches became thick, and new branches were pulled out on the side. In a few years, the whole slope was covered with green trees. By the end of April every year, the locust trees all over the mountains will bloom. On the branches, a purr, a purr, luxuriant hang on the branches, hanging down, and a light wind blows. The refreshing fragrance of locust flowers will float on the slope, and you can smell the striking aroma from a distance. At that time, it was common to have insufficient food. Rural people had no choice but to look for wild vegetables or other on the loess land to fill their stomachs. Therefore, someone developed Sophora japonica flower control (Kon) to make full use of the resources on the slope.
It's not just a delicacy in times of hunger. It uses only a little flour and a little stirring in the fresh washed locust flowers. It will be steamed in the cage for more than ten minutes, and then add some white sugar as a meal. It tastes refreshing and sweet. This is an excellent non-staple food given to children by adults every year. But there was little white sugar at that time. It would be good to add a few saccharins. At this time, groups of adults and children, holding hooked bamboo poles, carrying cages or carrying baskets, went uphill together to pick the freshly opened locust flowers. When the sun sets, people go home happily with the joy of harvest. The child hummed a song while running. " Robinia pseudoacacia flowers, adults pick to coax the baby, make it into a control to fill the belly, so that the baby doesn't cry '& hellip& hellip; Childish songs echoed over the April countryside. Recently, some reception households in folk villages have also cooked this kind of food to attract guests in the city. Those who have lived in the city for a long time are full of praise. Perhaps it is because they taste fresh. For me, every year my mother always makes some for the children to eat, and I also have the opportunity to change my taste. However, it does not give me satisfaction, but reminds me of my childhood in that special era. One year, my mother came all the way to the county to see me. There was a clang in her pocket. She smelled the smell of Sophora japonica from a distance. I complained to my mother and said; ' All the way, I didn't mention how heavy things are. I'll pick you up. " The mother smiled and said, 'I want to let the children taste fresh. Just in the street, I asked. It's five Jin and ten yuan. It's very expensive.' At the moment, my memory wanders on the Wulipo of my hometown in April. The past innocence, childlike innocence, past pure friendship, youth and heroism have disappeared now. Under the influence of various social phenomena, people have become confused and drift with the tide. They lack the fighting spirit of the past. They are mostly like a small boat in the sea. Looking around, they can't find where the front is. They really become passers-by in the world.
The locust flower in my hometown, with its faint fragrance, mixed with wisps of sweetness, is full of warmth. It is the best picture in my memory. Perhaps compared with summer lotus, the taste of lotus is too light and a little tasteless; Compared with the peony in spring, the peony flavor is too strong and the flowers are too colorful. If lotus and peony are princesses, noble and elegant, solemn and rich in fat, Sophora japonica is a village girl in the countryside, pure and beautiful, simple and dignified. Its uncut nature is what modern people lack.
Pure and ordinary, my expectation.