Author | Kong Er Dog Bookstore (Kong Er Dog Bookstore)
Source | Confucius Old Book Network App Dynamics
In May, the locust blossoms bloom and the aroma comes to sleep. Behind the front and back of the old house of the hometown, there are leafy and mottled acacia trees, and the tall canopy is like a turquoise umbrella cover, embellished with emerald green oval leaves, dancing in the gentle spring breeze. Every May, the days when the locust flowers bloom can be awakened in the dream by a wisp of fragrant, quiet, and slightly sweet aroma, which is refreshing and refreshing. It was as if overnight, the acacia tree was full of snow, and a bunch of white, exquisite locust flowers protruded from between a bush and a cluster of young leaves, like pure white milk flowing from the branches, but suddenly solidified in the air, and like a delicate small wine cup, filled with honey-sweet jelly, more like a string of white wind chimes, swaying with cheerful dance steps. Occasionally, a gust of wind struck, and many delicate locust petals fluttered down in the wind, spilling the broken jade on the ground.
The aroma of locust flowers is intoxicating, and its delicious taste is even more addictive. Most of the acacias in my hometown grow naturally, and no one has ever pruned the branches for them, nor has anyone ever sprayed them with pesticides, so they can be picked and tasted with peace of mind. In my hometown, the locust flowers waiting to be released are like the elm money, they can be eaten raw, and the naughty children are hungry one by one, take off their shoes and climb the trunk, climb to the acacia tree, pick the most fine branches of the locust flowers, break and throw them to the companions waiting under the tree, throw them to the ground, while riding on the branches, holding down a bunch of locust flowers, and directly covering their mouths. Locust peanuts eat sweet taste, teeth and cheeks left fragrant, if you do not remove the flower tray, it will be slightly astringent, but no one cares about these details, patronize a handful of eat a handful of pain. But the locust flower is a wild thing after all, raw eating is easy to make a stomach, and the acacia also has a nickname, called locust, there are many spines distributed in the middle of the branches, a lack of attention will be stabbed, if not dealt with in time, you may also get tetanus, occasionally encounter stinging hair, poisonous caterpillars, honeycombs and other uninvited guests, so climbing trees to pick locust flowers is still not a small risk.
To deal with these risks, of course, we have a good way, there is a seven- or eight-meter-long bamboo pole in the yard of my hometown, and the head of the bamboo pole is firmly twisted with a wire, which is specially used to pick locust flowers. Standing under the tree with a bamboo pole, I looked at the densest cluster of branches of the locust flower, hooked it with an iron hook and twisted it violently with both hands, clicked a sound, and the branches and locust flowers fell in response, saving time and effort, safe and efficient. Sometimes the canopy is too luxuriant to see clearly, so I stand on the roof of the bungalow next to the locust tree, work horizontally, and be more efficient. After a while, the locust flowers in the yard gathered into a big pile, and my mother and I immediately began to sort out and sort out, the old family had a nest of chickens, and two fat rabbits, fresh acacia leaves were their favorite, and I also liked to take the locust leaf branches to feed the rabbits, watching their three-petal mouth chew with relish, full of a sense of accomplishment. Plucked locust flowers first washed in water, and then with hot water, fished out with a fence, the original crisp and tender petals become soft, the aroma seems to converge, full of a large bag of locust flowers, you can also hold two plates, this is the most important ingredient of the locust flower cake. When I was a child, I ate a delicacy made of locust flowers, only one kind of locust flower cake, the method is very simple, using flour, eggs, salt, water into the batter, in addition to adding locust flowers to mix well, the other procedures are basically the same as ordinary flapjacks. Pour a thin layer of oil into the pan, heat up and pour the locust flower batter into it, wait for the bottom layer to solidify slightly, use the spatula to turn the dough, repeat several times, the locust flower cake is fixed, both sides become golden yellow, the aroma of the locust flower is re-concentrated, you can get out of the pot. The locust flower cake that comes out of this way, we call it "locust flower click" in the local dialect, when it first comes out of the pot, the aroma is overflowing, the steaming heat is steaming, and the taste is the best when it is hot, both the softness of the noodle cake, and the sweetness of the locust flower, but also mixed with the ripe locust flower petals, the flexible chewiness of the flower buds, the fresh flavor is incomparable, and the layers are rich. In the season when the locust flowers are full of branches, every day when I go home from school, what I look forward to most is that there will be one or two plates of freshly fried locust flowers on the table, with the cornmeal paste that I have loved to drink since childhood, and the pickled toon sprouts pickles at home, although it is eaten in the countryside, coarse tea and light rice, but it can make me young and satisfied.
After high school, I began to live on campus, usually three meals a day in the school canteen to eat, two weeks before the second year of high school home, high school is busy with high school, but also once a month to return home, the impression is not able to meet with the locust flower. Although the acacia tree is surnamed "Yang", it is rarely used as a green tree species in the city, not only can not eat the locust flower, but even the aroma of the locust flower is difficult to smell. That spring, repairing pens at the school gate, I inadvertently smelled a burst of familiar acacia flowers, and when I was busy looking around, there were two old farmers selling fresh locust flowers along the street, very large white plastic pockets, full of white locust flowers, only to sell a dollar a pocket. Hesitate repeatedly, or did not buy back the dormitory, first, the living expenses are not very generous, second, the dormitory has no pot and no stove, and can only eat raw when you buy it back, where is the state of mind of the childhood and the little friends you fight to grab and eat raw locust flowers? Now that I have participated in the work, socializing has become a common thing, and the wild local dishes that were not allowed to be served on the table, such as turtles, cabbage, gray ash, purslane, sweet potato leaves, and of course, acacia flowers, have also become guests with the changes in people's consumption concepts and eating habits. I have drunk locust flower knotty soup more than once, the taste is very delicious and delicious, and I have eaten dumplings filled with locust flowers more than once, and when I tasted it for the first time, my taste buds also felt a surprise, but after many years, I never ate the locust flower of my hometown again. After my father left, my mother was no longer in the mood to make another meal of locust flowers, and the expectation of this delicacy may become a memory stored in my taste buds for a long time.