In the small valley.
After practicing boxing early in the morning, Lin Momo and Shi Guang unmolded and cut the large block of ice that had been frozen in the bucket in the yard, and then put it into their space.
While working nimbly, Lin Momo thought of how people in Northeast China would make a lot of dumplings in winter, freeze them in the snow, and then store them in large vats.
If I don't feel like cooking, I'll just boil dumplings.
The thought of dumplings suddenly reminded her that it had been a long time since she had eaten them, and her cravings were instantly awakened.
Even if it's a high-end shop, you still need to make some dumplings and freeze them.
Although the space can keep food fresh, eating frozen dumplings has its own unique flavor.
That morning, Lin Momo patiently spent time in her study practicing calligraphy and learning medicine.
This is something the two of them have to do every day, just like getting up early to practice boxing, without fail.
The afternoon is their free time; they can do whatever they want.
So, after dinner, Lin Momo started making dumplings.
Upon hearing that they were making dumplings, Shi Guang, who had originally planned to continue chopping wood, joined in.
He also felt that they should take advantage of the winter break to prepare more food, since it wouldn't spoil if stored in his wife's space, so that they could be free to farm next spring.
Since the two moved to the valley, their lifestyle has become quite different from that of ordinary people.
Although the two ate three meals a day, they didn't cook every single day.
Once the fire is lit, it will cause a great deal of trouble, making a lot of food at once, storing it in the space, and slowly consuming it.
This saves a lot of trouble, which is why he and Lin Momo always seem so relaxed.
They would only fire once every few days.
Needless to say, today is another day of great commotion.
Because it was too cold outside, the two went inside and busied themselves in the open kitchen in the backyard.
The backyard, about an acre in size, was also filled with vegetable gardens, and fruit trees, including pear trees, apple trees, orange trees, tangerine trees, lemon trees, lychee trees, jujube trees, etc., were planted along the east and west walls, with only one or two of each kind planted.
Along the edge of the walkway, some flowers and plants were planted, such as roses, hydrangeas, peonies, irises, impatiens, and orchids, as well as some spices such as patchouli, perilla, mint, and fennel.
On either side of the path, sweet potatoes were planted on one side and potatoes on the other. Both can be used as vegetables or as staple foods, making them very practical.
Lin Momo initially bought 300 jin of each, intending to propagate them in her space and then plant them outside next spring.
Sweet potatoes are the kind commonly found in northern China; they are sweet and mealy, and can be made into sweet potato bricks, dried, and stored. Potatoes also have a mealy texture, are small in size, and are very sweet and fragrant when roasted.
The two of them felt at ease as they worked in the kitchen while looking at the vibrant vegetable garden.
Lin Momo kneads the dough, while Shi Guang chops the meat.
While Lin Momo kneaded two large basins of dough, Shi Guang was still chopping minced meat.
They prepared quite a lot of fillings today: onion and beef filling, lamb and scallion filling, pork and green bean filling, and only one vegetarian filling: fennel and egg filling.
After kneading the dough, Lin Momo began preparing to cut various side dishes.
It took two hours just to prepare the filling, and now the dough has risen.
Time doesn't make dumplings, it just rolls out the dough.
Seeing that he always rolled the dough into odd shapes, Lin Momo simply taught him how to press out dough sheets. She told him to sprinkle several dough pieces with flour, stack them together, and then use a rolling pin to press them into circles.
After trying it, I found it much easier than rolling it out the way I had done before, and it was also easier to control the force and shape. The more I did it, the more skilled I became.
Lin Momo could hardly keep up with his speed.
After wrapping up a portion, Lin Momo took it out and placed it on the snow to freeze. Once frozen, she put it in a rough earthenware jar next to her.
They were still wrapping the dumplings at 8 p.m.
The two of them didn't make things difficult for themselves; if they couldn't finish wrapping them today, they would leave them for tomorrow.
Dinner was naturally dumplings.
Lin Momo only cooked two kinds of dishes: beef with onions and eggs with fennel. She cooked a large plate of each, one meat and one vegetable.
Perhaps it was because she hadn't eaten dumplings in a long time, but Lin Momo thought today's dumplings were especially delicious. She could usually only eat twenty, but this time she ate twenty-six, feeling like she was stuffing them all the way to her throat.
But she still drank a little less than half a bowl of dumpling soup to tide her over.
The original soup helps digest the original food; how can you eat dumplings without drinking the dumpling soup?
The rest were devoured by time, and he clearly enjoyed eating dumplings he had made himself for the first time.
Benben and Little Wolf also ate dumplings with their owner, which was a taste of something different for them.
The two little ones still ate happily.
After the meal, the two first collected the dumplings that were frozen solid on the snow.
Lin Momo thought that after the people of Northeast China freeze the dumplings, there is another step before they put the dumplings into a large vat for storage.
That's called "waxing".
It is said that frozen dumpling skins coated with wax will not crack.
Since the two of them needed to digest their food after the meal, they decided to coat the frozen dumplings with a layer of wax.
The process of "waxing" dumplings is very simple: just rinse the frozen dumplings with water and then freeze them again.
After spending the entire afternoon making dumplings, the water vat, which was as tall as Lin Momo's waist, was already half full.
Time filled a basin with spring water and placed it in front of the large vat.
Lin Momo demonstrated it to him first, and then Shi Guang took the strainer from her and started working on it himself, leaving her to watch from the side.
Even though it was freezing cold, Shiguang couldn't bear to let his wife do this work, even if her hands didn't touch the cold water.
Shi Guang usually doesn't let Lin Momo do any of the heavy or tiring work around the house, mainly because he feels sorry for her because of her thin and weak body that hasn't gained much weight.
So Lin Momo stood happily to the side, directing her husband to do the work.
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