Chapter 39 Spicy Braised Dishes and Small Drinks
It has been snowing heavily for 21 days now, and the outdoor temperature has reached its lowest point, -65 degrees Celsius, and can even drop to -70 degrees Celsius at night.
The indoor temperature is currently being maintained very well; as long as the stove is burning brightly, the indoor temperature remains consistently above 20 degrees Celsius.
The 380,000 yuan renovation fee was definitely well spent; the insulation effect of the insulated walls and glass is superb.
However, now the power and internet are basically cut off all day long. The snow covers the windows, and if the lights are not turned on, the house is pitch black, and it is impossible to tell day from night.
Fearing there would be no air or oxygen in the room, they opened the doors, windows, and the door to the back room, and used a stick to make some holes.
Occasionally, the phone will come back for an hour or two. When it does, I take out the battery and my phone to charge.
The two small batteries have enough power for my daily use, such as turning on the lights and charging my phone.
Now, in addition to tending the fire in the kang (heated brick bed) and the stove, feeding the chickens and dogs, I have to add watering the vegetables to my daily routine.
These tasks are now easy for me to handle, not difficult, and they also serve as a good workout.
After I finish these things, I usually find some entertainment to enrich my life.
They either curl up on the sofa, warming themselves by the fire while watching TV shows or reading novels, or they play with the puppy.
When I was working, I used to dream every day about living this kind of life after I retired.
I never imagined that I would be living such a comfortable retirement life at such a young age, before I even turned 30.
Compared to the loneliness that comes with less social interaction, I enjoy more the comfort of lying down alone.
When watering, I noticed that many tender green shoots had sprouted from the soil.
This discovery surprised and delighted me, as it showed that the first step in growing vegetables had been successful.
Outside, it's a world of ice and snow, but inside, new life is thriving, filling me with anticipation for the future.
When you're in a good mood, you naturally want to treat yourself better.
After finishing my daily chores, I'll prepare some snacks to go with my drinks while watching TV.
After thinking it over, I decided to make some Cao-style spicy braised dishes. I modified them by adding more other ingredients, so they weren't too spicy, making them perfect for drinking with alcohol.
First, prepare some ingredients: 10 chicken wings, 10 chicken feet, 5 chicken drumsticks, 20 chicken gizzards, chicken hearts, sausage knots, 1 bag of braised lotus root, and two potatoes cut into thick slices.
Then take out the largest clay pot and place it on the small stove on the right side of the kitchen.
Light the small stove and place a honeycomb briquette on it.
Add about half a pot of water to a clay pot, put in a whole bag of Cao's base seasoning, then add an appropriate amount of ginger slices, bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon, and pour in dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, and thirteen-spice powder.
I just add a little bit of anything that adds flavor, pouring it all in at once.
Then a pot of fragrant braising liquid is ready.
Once the braising liquid in the casserole boils, the aroma wafts out and smells really good.
Most of the Cao family's fragrances, combined with the flavors of other spices, blend together to create an even richer and more mellow aroma.
At this point, add all the ingredients except potatoes, such as chicken wings and chicken feet, into the pot and start braising.
There was spicy braised food simmering in the kitchen, so I went to the front room to set up the drinking area.
The venue was chosen to be a sofa and a small wooden coffee table.
First, go to the small west house and choose a few bottles of wine: one bottle of Rio with lactic acid bacteria flavor, one bottle of rose sake, and one small bottle of brandy.
Three exquisite and lovely wine bottles are placed on the upper right side of the table.
The video player is placed diagonally in the upper left corner; simply select the movie "My Neighbor Totoro" and pause it.
Then pour a small bowl of canned strawberries, a small plate of pine nuts and pecans.
Add some nice glass wine glasses, and the arrangement is complete.
Add potato slices after 20 minutes of braising, and wait another 10 minutes for the braised food to be ready.
The aroma of Qiao's duck necks, along with the fragrance of various spices and meats, is simply irresistible when you open a box.
Remove the chicken wings, chicken feet, chicken gizzards, etc., and put them directly into a super large bowl, filling it completely.
Place the steaming hot braised food in the center of the small wooden tea table.
I opened the Totoro movie app, put on disposable gloves, and began a relaxing binge-watching and slightly tipsy journey.
Try a piece of braised chicken wing first. The skin of the chicken wing is soaked with braising liquid. When you eat it, you can taste the aroma of the oil and braising liquid combined. It is very tender.
The lean meat in the middle of the chicken wing is also smooth and chewy, making it especially delicious.
After finishing a chicken wing and taking a big gulp of rose sake, it feels so good!
Next, try the chicken feet. They weren't particularly soft or mushy; they were chewy and springy, and the meat was soaked in the braising sauce, making them more and more fragrant the more you chewed them.
Next up is the sausage knot. Just bite it open from the middle, and the fragrant juice bursts out. Eating the slightly hot juice along with the sausage knot is very satisfying.
The chicken gizzards and hearts were very flavorful, with the taste of Cao's braising sauce and various other braising liquids. They were also very chewy, and you could take small bites of them.
Taking a couple of bites of chicken gizzard and a sip of wine, it couldn't be more relaxing.
After drinking for a while, I got tired of drinking the same kind of alcohol, so I started making my own cocktails.
Adding some lactic acid bacteria-flavored RIO to rose sake makes it even more refreshing and delicious.
Adding a small amount of brandy to RIO makes the flavor stronger, and the sweet lactic acid bacteria combined with the spicy aroma makes it even more mellow.
So I watched TV shows while drinking and eating spicy braised food.
When you're engrossed in a movie, put down the food you're eating.
The movie was accompanied by a drink, with meals and snacks added to the overall experience.
By the time the movie ended, I had eaten and drunk my fill, and was also a little tipsy.
Sleepiness came over me immediately, but I wasn't in a hurry. I quickly tidied up the coffee table and grabbed a small blanket that was draped next to the sofa to cover myself.
I turned off the light and, by the dim glow of the fireplace, drifted off to sleep.
I slept for about an hour, then felt a bit thirsty and stopped sleeping.
Turn on the light, pick up the kettle next to the stove, and pour yourself a glass of warm water.
Because the stove was always on fire and the kettle was warming itself by the fire, the water was lukewarm.
I gulped down a glass of water, stretched, opened my music app on my phone, and started cleaning while listening to music.
There were still two-thirds of the braised food left in the large bowl. I put it in a plastic bag and placed it in the kitchen cabinet so it wouldn't spoil if I wanted to eat it anytime.
Then I placed the wine bottle on the windowsill. I plan to put all the empty wine bottles on the windowsill in the future.
Once it's fully stocked, a row of vibrant colors will create a dazzling display, which will surely have a unique charm.
Now full of energy, I started sweeping and mopping the floor, changing the sheets, washing the sheets, and wiping the table all in one go while listening to music.
After finishing these chores, I was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and combined with the relaxation from drinking earlier, I felt even more comfortable.
After taking a quick hot shower, I changed into a new set of loungewear—a new set of thermal underwear and a cotton vest.
My skin felt smooth and slippery, and putting on my new pajamas made me feel relaxed and comfortable.
I sat down at my desk, applied snake oil cream to my skin, and then picked up my notebook to start taking notes.
Record the weather outside and the duration of the heavy snow, record that the vegetables sprouted today and that I had a little wine today.
I want to record every moment of my life now, so that I can look back on them when I have free time in the future.
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