Chapter 1427 - 557: Pickled Spicy Cabbage, Roasted Pumpkin Chips, Hundreds of Delicious Flavors, but Braised Goose Is Still the Best! [Bonus - 2]_2

Chapter 1427: Chapter 557: Pickled Spicy Cabbage, Roasted Pumpkin Chips, Hundreds of Delicious Flavors, but Braised Goose Is Still the Best! [Bonus Chapter 2]_2

"I’ve eaten dried sweet potato before, and there’s plenty available online, but I haven’t tried dried pumpkin yet."

Lin Xu placed the cutting board on the table in the courtyard, then set the washed old pumpkin on it and began peeling it with a kitchen knife.

Shen Jiayue was about to try using a peeler when Lin Xu stopped her:

"The skin of these old pumpkins is very hard, don’t try it yourself; you might cut your hand... You go ahead and turn on the all-in-one baking machine in the kitchen, so we can dry the pumpkin directly in there later."

In summer, you can use the sun to dry the pumpkin.

But in winter, the pumpkin might rot and spoil before it gets dried.

The sunlight now is good enough to dry blankets and clothes, but a bit insufficient for pumpkin, so better use technology and dry the moisture from the pumpkin bit by bit with the baking machine.

This principle is the same as sun-drying, but the difference is that sun-drying takes several days, while with the baking machine, it can be done in one or two hours, very convenient.

Shen Jiayue had just gone inside, and Chen Meijuan, who had just finished arranging work for the employees, came to the dining room. Seeing Lin Xu busy, she grabbed a kitchen knife to help.

Her son will return to Beijing tomorrow, so she wants to spend as much time with him as possible.

When he was a child, she always hoped he’d grow up and succeed, finding his own career.

Now that he has a career, he can’t stay beside his parents.

Lin Xu noticed his mom’s expression and said with a smile:

"You don’t want us to leave, do you? We’re still young and can’t just stay home all day eating and drinking. There’s plenty waiting for us in Beijing, plus aren’t you and Dad going to Beijing soon? Ginkgo Garden is waiting for you to manage."

This calmed Chen Meijuan’s emotions somewhat.

Yes, there’s Ginkgo Garden; it is set to open this spring. She has to work with Old Lin to busy themselves with it, introducing small animals and arranging people to take care of them.

Her son is right; there is a lot to do.

Just keep striving, and in a couple of years, there won’t be any external debt at home, and when there are grandchildren, they’ll go to Beijing for retirement, the whole family all lively together, no longer having to endure separation.

Having made up her mind, Chen Meijuan’s emotions finally calmed down.

Lin Xu cleaned the pumpkin skin and used a spoon to scoop out the pumpkin seeds.

These are old pumpkins, so the seeds are very plump. Lin Xu put them aside and might wash them later, to make salted roasted pumpkin seeds, which should taste very good.

"Wow, so many pumpkin seeds! Can we eat these?"

The group, including Xiaolei and Chen Shaokang, strolled over from the reservoir side. Just now Shen Guofu had helped Chen Meiliang with fishing, and these young people followed.

But they didn’t see any fish for a long time, grew impatient, and returned to the dining room strolled.

No matter what fish is caught, the cousin ultimately cooks it, so why not just stay beside the cousin? It’s easier this way.

Lin Xu said:

"Not yet, but if you’re free, you can get some water and rub out these pumpkin seeds, and I’ll make you salted roasted pumpkin seeds later."

Haha, coming to find the cousin was the right choice.

Chen Shaokang took a basin to get water, while Xiaoxun put all the scooped-out pumpkin pulp into a basket. Xiaolei pulled Shi Moli, picking up pumpkin seeds scattered on the cutting board nearby.

After scooping out the pumpkin pulp, Lin Xu cut the pumpkin.

Instead of cutting it into rings suitable for hanging to dry, as he planned to use the baking machine, he cut it into pumpkin pieces about three centimeters wide and ten centimeters long.

This way it is convenient for placing into the baking machine and roasting.

If it’s too big, the difficulty in baking will increase dramatically; if too small, after drying, the whole pumpkin will shrink into a small piece, inconvenient for steaming and second-time drying.

Once cut, he put them into a basin, carried it to the kitchen, opened the baking oven, pulled out the grid tray, placed the pumpkin pieces in, set the temperature and time, and started baking.

The baking temperature shouldn’t be too high; it needs to be done slowly or the pumpkin can’t be baked properly.

With the baking oven adjusted, it was time for the sweet potato.

However, the baking oven was occupied, so the plan to bake sweet potato sticks had to be postponed.

With some free time, Lin Xu grabbed an apple and a pear, along with sugar, ginger, garlic, dried chili powder, and other seasonings, preparing to mix the sauce for marinating spicy cabbage.

Garlic and ginger, peeled, washed, and dried, were chopped into fine pieces alongside the peeled and cored apple and pear.

Then add dried chili powder, sugar, and salt.

Mix first, then pour in some cooled boiled water to stir into a thicker paste.

Thus, the sauce for marinating spicy cabbage was made.

Red chili, garlic, and ginger set the spicy base tone; the lactic acid fermentation adds flavor, the combination of cabbage, sugar, apple, and pear creates the sweetness, essential to spicy cabbage’s soul.

Actually, on this basis, fish sauce, fresh fish flakes, beef bone soup, glutinous rice flour, peanut shreds, and various other ingredients and seasonings can be added to enhance the flavor of spicy cabbage.

But Lin Xu doesn’t like making it too complex; he believes the fewer seasonings, the better you can taste the food’s original flavor.

Too many seasonings only serve as a counterproductive effect.

"Meow!!"

Just after mixing the spicy sauce, Dundun’s cry was heard from not far away.

The little one had eaten meat in the morning and then jumped onto the pigsty wall, curious about the new big fellow. Chirping at the iron cage, but inside the lion-headed goose didn’t respond.

The chubby cat didn’t know if it was inflated or felt this big goose only had size but was like a fool, so it simply jumped onto the top of the cage.