However, as a peasant woman who was busy in the fields all day, Sun Guixiang felt uncomfortable staying idle at home all day. She always wanted to keep busy by doing needlework or washing dishes.
However, the old lady of the Li family was afraid that something might happen to the baby in her daughter-in-law's belly, so she wouldn't let her do anything even slightly strenuous. As time went by, Sun Guixiang felt that she was going to have a problem from being idle.
Fortunately, Su Xueyan often went over to talk to her. Although the child was only three or four years old and her childish words were sometimes incomprehensible, Sun Guixiang still liked it.
After making arrangements for her sister, Su Qingluan began to take a two-pronged approach.
Turn on the fire and put the casserole on it, then pour all the drained wild fruits into the pot.
In an instant, the ruby-like fruits filled half of the casserole.
Su Qingluan did not turn up the fire very high, otherwise, if she was not careful, the fruit near the upper part would be roasted dry and stick to the wall of the pot, and after a long time, there would be a burnt smell.
In order to ensure that all the fruit flesh is heated evenly, Su Qingluan controls the temperature to the minimum range that can keep the flame relatively constant.
Although this would extend the cooking time, it had one advantage: Su Qingluan didn't have to keep an eye on the casserole and the heat all the time, and didn't have to worry about the whole pot of fruit pulp getting burnt if she wasn't careful.
At the same time, she began to take out the puff pastry that had been softened yesterday and make lotus pastry.
Lotus cakes originally required food coloring, but back then, there was no technology or innovation. Fortunately, many natural ingredients already contain coloring.
So Su Qingluan used spinach juice to make green pigment and beet juice to make red pigment.
Although natural pigments are not as pure as industrial food pigments and the dyeing effect is lighter, it just makes the color of the lotus pastry appear very elegant and not gaudy, which is a blessing in disguise.
Although lotus pastry looks very elegant, it is not difficult to make for Chinese dim sum. Even if Su Qingluan is not a professional pastry chef, she can still make this dim sum.
The water-oil dough and ghee dough were folded and flattened layer by layer. While the dough was relaxing in the middle, Su Qingluan went to see how the jam on the other side was going.
While relaxing the dough and cooking the jam, Su Qingluan felt like a tool who had to punch in and out at both ends, and was as busy as a spinning top.
When the dough is relaxed for the last time, the jam that originally produced many gurgling bubbles due to excessive moisture gradually forms a thicker sauce due to the evaporation of moisture, and the bubbles also change from watery to larger and more viscous state.
Su Qingluan knew it was almost cooked as soon as she saw it, so she covered the relaxed dough with a large bowl to prevent the moisture from evaporating and the surface from drying out.
Then add sugar and salt prepared in proportion.
This time, she stared at the jam in the pot without blinking until the sugar and salt were completely melted. Su Qingluan stopped stirring, took the casserole off the stove, put the iron pot on it, and poured in half a pot of soybean oil.
However, this soybean oil does not have the usual bean smell. On the contrary, due to the long-term soaking in citrus peels such as grapefruit peels and orange peels to absorb odors, this soybean oil actually smells faintly fragrant!
Su Qingluan still maintained the lowest heat, intending to make the lotus crisps first. This time difference was enough for the half pot of oil to slowly heat up.
At this moment, Su Qingluan heard someone knocking on the gate outside.
Su Qingluan was puzzled: Logically speaking, most of the villagers would be busy going to the fields or going to the town to buy and sell things before noon - especially during the autumn harvest season.
If Sun Guixiang was free at this time, she and her family had already been familiar friends. If she knocked on the wooden door and no one answered, Sun Guixiang would have shouted at the top of her lungs or pushed the door open herself.
Feeling so puzzled, Su Qingluan patted the flour in her hands and turned to go to the yard to see what was going on.
It turned out that the visitor was actually a servant from Xie Zian’s house!
The boy looked unfamiliar, but Su Qingluan recognized his clothes at once.
What business did the Xie family have at this hour? Su Qingluan muttered to herself, but she wore a warm and friendly smile. "This young man looks unfamiliar to me. Would you like to come in for a cup of tea and tell me why you've come?"
But the other party not only did not appreciate it, but his face was stern, as if the Su family owed him ten strings of cash: "I dare not call you 'young master'. The master invites you, Madam Su, please come with me."
Su Qingluan raised an eyebrow secretly when she heard this: Oh? It seems that this person is not friendly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
