Lu Qingyang sat next to her, picked up the spoon skillfully, scooped a spoonful of soup, blew on it, and handed it to her mouth:
"Be good, drink the soup first. Didn't you just have eggs and milk this morning? How long has it been?"
"That's not enough!" Shen Mo took a sip of the soup from his hand. It tasted delicious, but it didn't satisfy her craving at all!
She complained aggrievedly.
"I'm eating alone now! I have two little kids in my stomach, I'm getting hungry! I used to eat five bowls of rice in one meal, but now you only give me a small bowl..."
She gestured with her fingers, emphasizing her "miserable" situation.
"Little Jasmine, I know you get hungry quickly." He explained patiently with a serious look in his eyes.
"But when you're pregnant with twins, your belly grows fast. If you nourish yourself too much, the baby will be too big and both you and the baby will suffer during birth. Also, excessive nutrition is not good for your body. You'll be more likely to get... pregnancy problems."
"We now have meat, eggs, and fresh vegetables, which are nutritious enough. Eat less at each meal and eat more often. This way, your children can absorb the food well and won't be too burdened. Look, don't I tell you to eat several times a day? It's all filling and nutritious."
He made these small cakes with fine flour, eggs, and milk, mixed with chopped walnuts and red date paste. You wouldn't see them outside.
"But I just want to eat a big bowl of greasy braised pork! I want to eat a big pot of spicy chicken! I want to eat fragrant rice with lard!"
Shen Mo pouted and looked at him with watery eyes, trying to break down his defenses with a "pitiful attack": "Just once, okay?"
"Okay, okay, the most important thing is to be in a good mood." Lu Qingyang finally agreed.
He sighed helplessly, stretched out his hand and gently pinched Shen Mo's increasingly round and pink cheeks: "Little greedy cat, you win, but let me make a deal first, only make a little bit to satisfy your craving, don't eat too much! And you have to cook it according to my method, with less oil and less salt."
"Yeah, yeah! All up to you! Just a little bit is fine! I love to eat whatever you cook!"
Lu Qingyang looked at her little face which suddenly changed from gloomy to bright, feeling both angry and amused.
He stood up and walked towards the kitchen, thinking in his mind: I have to satisfy her cravings while also taking into account nutrition, health, and not being too greasy.
He took out a small piece of high-quality pork belly with alternating fat and lean meat from the space.
This piece of meat is the essence of the pig that was specially kept before slaughtering. It is well preserved in the space and its color is still bright.
"Let's make a small portion of braised pork today." Lu Qingyang rolled up his sleeves and cleaned the meat skillfully, then cut it into even-sized pieces.
He did not stir-fry a lot of fat as usual, but put the meat into the pot with cold water, added a few slices of ginger and a little cooking wine to blanch it, and skimmed off the foam, which effectively removed the fishy smell and some excess fat.
Drain the blanched meat.
He put a tiny amount of oil in the pot—he used the sunflower oil in the space, which was lighter than lard.
Add a few pieces of rock sugar and slowly stir-fry until the sugar becomes a beautiful reddish-red color.
Then pour the drained meat in and stir-fry quickly so that each piece of meat is evenly coated with the attractive sugar color.
Next, add warm water that just covers the meat, add a few slices of ginger, a small piece of scallion, a star anise, a small piece of cinnamon, and finally a few drops of soy sauce to enhance the color and flavor, and use salt very sparingly.
When the heat is high, turn to the lowest simmer, cover the pot and simmer slowly.
"Qingyang, it smells so good!" Shen Mo moved to the kitchen door at some point.
Leaning against the door frame, staring at the pot, his face full of impatience.
Finally, as Chen Mo was eagerly waiting, Lu Qingyang lifted the lid of the pot.
The soup has become thick and glossy, and the deep red sauce tightly wraps each piece of greasy pork belly.
Lu Qingyang poked the meat lightly with chopsticks, and the meat immediately became soft and rotten and fell apart.
He carefully placed five pieces of meat in a small bowl and scooped a small spoonful of thick soup on top.
"Here, a little at a time as agreed." Lu Qingyang handed the small bowl to Shen Mo. There were five pieces of meat in it, and two blanched green rapeseeds on the side. "Eat slowly, chew slowly."
Chen Mo took the bowl and her eyes curved with smile.
She couldn't wait to pick up a piece of meat, blew on it, and took a small bite carefully.
Hmm...
It melts in your mouth! The fat part is soft, sweet and not greasy at all, while the lean meat is crispy and not dry, full of rich and delicious sauce.
The perfect sweet and salty taste, mixed with the subtle aroma of spices, instantly exploded in her mouth, perfectly satisfying her long-suppressed craving.
The little ones in the belly seemed to feel the mother's joy and kicked gently twice.
"Is it delicious?" Lu Qingyang looked at her intoxicated expression and asked knowingly, with a doting smile in his eyes.
"Mm! Delicious! So delicious!" Shen Mo nodded vigorously.
"Are you feeling better now?" Lu Qingyang took the empty bowl and handed her a small piece of hawthorn cake that he had specially made with less sugar. "Eat some of this to help digestion and relieve the greasiness."
Shen Mo took the hawthorn cake. The sour and sweet taste melted in her mouth, diluting the heavy feeling of the braised pork and making her feel extremely refreshed.
After eating, she lay on the recliner. The room was warm, and she picked up a book and read leisurely.
Little Huihui hummed and rubbed against her feet, as if he had something to say to her.
"What's wrong, Huihui, are you hungry?"
Xiao Huihui bit her trouser leg and continued to hum.
This reminded Shen Mo of the time when she picked it up.
"Okay, okay, I'll go with you to take a look."
Shen Mo patted Xiao Huihui's head. She wrapped herself tightly in a thick cotton jacket, put on a thick cotton hat and gloves, took a sturdy wooden stick that Lu Qingyang had placed behind the door as a crutch, and then pushed open the door.
A sharp chill blew in my face, and the first clear sunlight after the snow was a little dazzling, illuminating the whole world in silver.
When Xiao Huihui saw her coming, he immediately turned around excitedly, and then couldn't wait to run towards the corner behind the house where firewood and sundries were piled. He stopped after running a few steps, looked back at her, and made an urging "woooo" sound in his throat.
Xiao Huihui went to the back of the firewood pile. It was shady there and the snow seemed thicker than other places, so few people went there on weekdays.
Xiao Huihui had stopped in the deepest depression of the firewood pile, which was filled with thick snow blown by the wind.
It stopped humming and, with an extremely focused attitude, lowered its head and nudged the snow pile with its nose. Its movements were very light, and a soothing purring sound came from its throat.
Shen Mo's heart was lifted.
She leaned on her stick and approached carefully, pushing aside the snow that had been loosened by the little gray cat.
"Oh my God!" She exclaimed softly.
놇Under the cold snow, curled up was a small, frozen orange ball of fur!
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