March and April in the northeast, the first warm and cold, although the festival has passed the hibernation, the earth is still like a sleepy child, long unwilling to wake up.
By May 1, the field is really lively.
In the spring, people's table, but also more flavor of wild vegetables. One of my favorite things to do at this time of year is to pick up the knife for digging vegetables and go straight to the ridge behind my home to dig wild vegetables.
This has become a habit for me.
The first to reveal the news of spring, in addition to the Brahmi, there is also the willow buds. Artemisia buds appear a little later than Brahmi. Generally, after the Qingming, brahminy will come out of the ground one after another.
Compared to the Brahmaputra, which is found everywhere, Artemisia shoots are relatively rare. They grow on the ridge, or on the side of the river, always where there is water, you can find them.
To eat the buds, must be before and after the first of May, no one year earlier, no one year later. Too early, artemisia buds have not sprouted; too late, artemisia buds grow too high, it is old, can not eat.
The buds of the artemisia that just sprouted small tips are the most tender to eat. They tend to stick to the ground and are not easy to spot unless you look closely. Artemisia buds are in pieces, found a tree, there must be a bunch of surrounding.
The tool for picking artemisia buds only needs a knife. After finding the target, use the knife to gently pull the root of the artemisia buds, artemisia buds will be taken off.
The plucking of artemisia buds is very patient. A small bowl of artemisia buds on the dining table, behind a basket, and it is picked one by one.
Artemisia sprouts are easily confused with artemisia, and the criterion for distinguishing between them is that the roots of artemisia sprouts are smooth and reddish in color, while ordinary artemisia has a downy appearance and white roots.
In the second grade of elementary school, once the second aunt to my house, take us a few children to dig artemisia buds. I quickly dug up a large basket, excited to take home to show mom. The result is that my mom found that I dug a basket of artemisia.
Later, when digging artemisia buds, I paid attention to observation, especially look at its roots, there is a kind of transparent red color. Moreover, artemisia buds are small and do not grow tall like artemisia.
I usually go digging after school or in the evening, on the ridge behind my house.
Ever since I was a child, I have had a special preference for the sunset. When I was growing up, I read the song "Withered Vines, Old Trees, Dusky Crows, Small Bridges, Running Water, Homes. The bridge, the water, the house." When I read that poem, what came to my eyes was the red sun slowly setting behind me when I was digging vegetables, and the old ox slowly returning home by the ridge.
The chimneys of the houses were filled with smoke, mixed with the smell of rice, fried chili sauce, stewed bean curd, and I could hear the adults yelling, "XXX, go home and eat!
I dug a little bit of artemisia buds, thinking about a moment I also went home to eat, my family dinner table will be more such a fresh dish, the heart has a hint of beauty.
Picked home artemisia buds, need to first pick a tree clean, pick out the weeds brought in or pick the wrong artemisia, and then wash with water.
There are several ways to eat. You can blanch the artemisia shoots, then put them in cool water, and then clutch the water clean. Fry a bowl of chili sauce and eat it directly with the sauce.
You can also make soup, clear soup or put some potatoes can be. Stewed into a soup of tarragon buds have a unique flavor of wild vegetables, slightly bitter, and a little astringent, but once you eat it, you know that this is the taste of spring.
My family most often do, is blanched with water directly after the dip sauce. Of course, there are also cucumbers, scallions, dried tofu, cilantro, and granny smith.
Artemisia sprouts only grow where there is water, so there are not many places where you can find them. When you dig up a basket full of artemisia sprouts, only a small plate will be left after blanching, which, coupled with its seasonal nature, makes it a rarity on the dinner table.
In my family, I usually go to pick artemisia buds, I also like to do this thing, and every time I enjoy it, enjoy the sunset kind of quiet and the joy of harvest.
Tender green artemisia shoots on the table, after a winter table brought green, tell us that there is a spring to come.
Since I left home for college, I have rarely been able to grasp the most accurate time to go to my favorite ridge to dig artemisia buds.
One year on May 1 vacation, I ran to the ridge in a hurry, want to dig artemisia buds, but unfortunately found that the river has dried up, both sides of the paddy fields have been converted into dry fields, the river used as a diversion channel has lost its role, both sides of the overgrown weeds, but there is no trace of artemisia buds.
Yes, the buds are inseparable from the water. The water is gone, how can it again in it?
But even so, I still want to go there every time I go back to my hometown to walk, sit on the ridge, and then look at the beautiful sunset, and listen to the familiar voice of the townspeople shouting baby home.
Several times in my dreams, I smelled the scent of artemisia buds, which were in clusters, clusters, by the creek, growing uncontrollably.
Those wantonly growing artemisia buds, like those wonderful years, can only appear in the dream.
The artemisia buds, like those beautiful years, can only appear in dreams.