The next morning, after getting up, eating breakfast, and finishing her chores, Xu Han took her basket and went to the backyard to pick vegetables!
First, we picked cucumbers, which are at their freshest and most tender. Although we have planted a lot of cucumbers, this is our first time harvesting, and we've only managed to fill one basket.
No rush, cucumbers grow quickly, and another batch can be harvested in two or three days.
After picking the cucumbers, we continued to harvest the intercropped vegetables, including Shanghai bok choy, lettuce, romaine lettuce, and baby bok choy.
So many! This time, the vegetables have been a huge harvest.
After harvesting the greens, I started cutting chives and shallots! Both of these grow very quickly! I harvested quite a bit of them too.
The tomatoes and cantaloupes aren't ripe yet, but in a few days there will be some red tomatoes! Then we can pick them!
After all the vegetables have been harvested, replant the remaining spaces with green vegetables.
Intercropping is no longer recommended for various vegetables. The seedlings have already grown large; if you continue to intercrop them, the other vegetables won't get enough sunlight and won't grow well!
After finishing, it was lunchtime. Lu Chuan usually didn't come back for lunch, and Xu Han herself couldn't eat much, so she just took some things from her space to eat and didn't cook for herself!
In the afternoon, Xu Han tied the vegetables and other items in her space with straw ropes and stacked them directly inside, so they didn't take up much space!
After finishing, seeing that there was still time, Xu Han decided to pickle some cucumbers to eat with porridge!
First, cut the cucumber into strips about the length and width of your finger. Use more salt and less sugar to marinate and draw out the excess water!
While we're at it, let's make some sauce for pickled cucumbers.
Add soy sauce, vinegar, and water to a pot in a certain ratio, then add a little rock sugar, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise. Bring to a boil over high heat, then let cool and set aside.
Cut the ginger, garlic, and chili into slices and set aside.
Half an hour later, squeeze the water out of the pickled cucumbers, put them into a clean, dry jar along with the other ingredients, add the cooled brine until it covers the cucumbers, and seal it well.
These pickled cucumbers are delicious, and they pickle very quickly; we can eat them tomorrow.
Today I'm making a small batch for a small jar. Because I didn't have enough soy sauce, the amount I made at once was very small. If I need to make more, I'll have to make it in smaller batches!
No problem, there's plenty of time. We can make enough to last for several years if we make it a few more times!
This cannot be placed in the space because it needs to be pickled, and time is frozen in the space, so pickling is not possible. Place it in a cool, dry place, and wait until it's pickled enough before putting it in the space.
After finishing all that, Lu Chuan returned. Today he had hunted three pheasants, five rabbits, and a wild duck!
It had been a long time since they had eaten duck, so the two of them decided to cook a duck for dinner tonight!
Lu Chuan processed the game, while Xu Han continued making pickled bamboo shoots and pickled vegetables.
First, pickle the bamboo shoots. Wash the peeled bamboo shoots, drain them, cut them into strips, boil a pot of water, add a little salt, let it cool, and then pour it into a jar.
Try pickling a large jar first, and then continue pickling after some time.
After pickling the bamboo shoots, I started pickling the cabbage. I don't have cabbage or mustard greens right now, but I have a lot of freshly harvested Shanghai bok choy, which can also be used to make quick pickled cabbage.
Boil a pot of water, put the Shanghai bok choy into the pot, and blanch it briefly until it softens. Don't blanch it for too long, or it won't be crisp.
After blanching, put the vegetables into a clean, dry jar, then add the water used to blanch them, ensuring the vegetables are completely submerged. If you want to eat them quickly, you can add a little vinegar.
While making sauerkraut, Xu Han suddenly realized that she hadn't eaten fish even once since arriving here. She had a little bit of frozen shrimp in her storage space, but not enough for even one plate!
Sigh! It's been so long since I've eaten fish and shrimp. I remember Lu Chuan once said there were small shrimp in the river. I wonder if there are any fish. I guess I'll have to ask Lu Chuan.
I'll try to get some when I have time. Pickled fish, boiled fish, grilled fish, and fish soup are all delicious!
After preparing the sauerkraut, it was time to cook dinner!
Lu Chuan helped chop the duck into small pieces; we're planning to make beer-braised duck today! It'll be especially delicious with dried bamboo shoots!
First, blanch the chopped duck to remove the blood and foam, then rinse it clean and stir-fry it in a pot! Once it turns golden brown and the fat inside the duck is rendered out, add two cans of beer.
Speaking of which, Xu Han has never actually let Lu Chuan drink this beer! She hadn't even thought about it until today, and if she hadn't seen the duck, she would have completely forgotten that there were two cans of beer in the fridge!
This was something Xu Han brought back after drinking with her friends and not finishing it!
After adding the beer, add the dried bamboo shoots that have been soaked in hot water beforehand. It tastes better with dried bamboo shoots than with fresh bamboo shoots!
After the beer-braised duck was ready, Xu Han took out the fast-growing cabbage she had just harvested that day and stir-fried it!
The staple food is white flour steamed buns and seaweed and egg drop soup!
Such delicious food deserves drinks to enhance the experience. We've run out of beer today, otherwise we could have had some!
After dinner, the two of them slumped into their chairs, completely stuffed!
Xu Han said, "Where did you hunt the wild duck? Ducks are delicious, they're also very fragrant when pickled, boiled, or eaten cold! Do you have any wild duck eggs?"
"We met by chance today. I know there's a flock of ducks in a reed bed, and it's the season when they're laying eggs. I'll take you there tomorrow!"
"Okay! We'll catch plenty of ducks and store them!" After saying that, he asked again:
"Are there any fish in the river? I haven't eaten fish in ages!"
"Why eat that? It's awful, it tastes muddy and fishy!"
"That's because you don't know how to cook. My fish dishes are delicious! Boiled fish, sauerkraut fish, braised fish, and so on are all very tasty! Marinated fish chunks are also delicious!"
Hearing Xu Han say that, Lu Chuan immediately realized, "Yes! Ordinary people's fish doesn't taste good; it's smelly and fishy. Only the fish cooked by chefs in restaurants tastes good!"
I can't cook it myself, but my wife is a great cook! Why didn't I think of that?
"I'd completely forgotten that my wife is the best cook, how could she not cook fish well!" Lu Chuan said to Xu Han in a fawning manner.
"Then I'll weave a few fish baskets, and we can fish them out when we go out tomorrow, and collect them when we come back!"
"Okay, then you go ahead and make it up! I'll go wash the dishes!"
Lu Chuan usually does the dishes! It was getting late today, so Xu Han asked Lu Chuan to weave a fish basket while she went to wash the dishes.
After Xu Han finished washing the dishes, Lu Chuan had already chopped the bamboo. Seeing that he couldn't help, he turned around and went to the bathroom to take a shower!
After taking a shower, Lu Chuan was still weaving, while Xu Han continued to pick mulberries from mulberry branches.
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