Prose of May Huai Cake

When I came back from the morning market to buy food, I saw two neighbors who lived in the same building rushing out. Aunt Li is carrying a long wooden pole with a sickle tied to it; Another aunt is carrying a big bag in her hand.

I asked curiously, what are you doing with such a long guy on your back in the morning?

Aunt Li grinned and said with a strong Shandong accent: Go to Beishan to pick Sophora japonica.

Picking Sophora japonica? I paused in an instant. I haven't heard this sentence for a long time, as if it had been floating in the sky of childhood and never appeared in this century.

May is the season when Sophora japonica blooms in the north. Walking under the locust tree in the morning and evening, the fragrance of the locust tree will float away, break into your breath, get close to your sense of smell, make you take a few deep breaths and put that fragrance into your heart, as if the whole body and mind will be fragrant.

There are many locust trees in Beishan Park. When the trade wind blows in May, clusters of Sophora japonica will be wrapped around the branches like clouds. When I was young, my friends climbed up the tree trunk, picked flowers one by one, ate them raw or took them home to cook for my mother. Sophora japonica is skillfully made into Sophora japonica cake or steamed stuffed bun by mother, which is delicious and unique and has become a delicious food for children in poor years. As a result, in May every year, there is more expectation and more enjoyment. The cake of Sophora japonica in May will be fixed in the memory of childhood, bound into a book, drawn and collected permanently.

Now that people's lives are better, there are more delicious foods, and Sophora japonica cakes have long since faded out of the table and no longer appear. Nowadays, children don't even know what Sophora japonica cake is. What's that smell? If you let them taste it, it is estimated that there will not be too many surprises. Because their taste buds are spoiled. You might say: is this your food after work? Not as good as pizza.

Food has a special meaning for everyone. The environment of birth, eating habits and special memories will make people have different preferences and persistence in food. It's also like sweet in the south and salty in the north. Sichuan food is hot and sour. Therefore, when going out, what I miss most is the snacks in my hometown; When I get home, what I want most is home-cooked meals.

Looking at the more and more stout Sophora japonica trees and the blossoming Sophora japonica flowers hanging high on the branches, I sometimes suddenly sprout childlike innocence and want to relive the fun of childhood and pick some Sophora japonica flowers. Finally, because of my age, I was unable to do anything. In desperation, it will inevitably give birth to some feelings: the fragrance of Sophora japonica is different every year.

The fragrant locust tree suddenly reminds me of San Mao's poem "Tell Yourself":

if there is an afterlife

Become a tree

Standing forever

There is no gesture of sadness and joy.

Half in the dust.

Half of them are flying in the wind.

Half in the shade.

Half bathed in sunshine

……

If I want to be a tree, I choose to be a locust tree.

Spring wakes up and flowers bloom. When watching, I send incense; When I am hungry, I can make full food; In summer, a green shade is propped up; In winter, standing as a watchman, waiting for the spring of next year, still fragrant with you.

During lunch break, I was dreaming when I suddenly heard someone knocking at the door. When I opened the door, I saw it was Aunt Li. Aunt Li asked me to take some Sophora japonica in a big enamel pot, and I chose. I'm embarrassed to turn around and leave, but I don't like it when you spend so much time picking it up.

Aunt Li said with a smile, where did the neighbors get so many courtesies? My son said he wanted to eat Sophora japonica cake, so I chose it. Take some and make a cake of Sophora japonica.

I gratefully took a small pot and put some in it. Aunt Li asked me to put more, and kept grabbing Sophora japonica with her hands and putting it in my pot. Sophora japonica rose in the basin, overflowed the basin and scattered on the ground. The elegant and sweet smell filled the whole room at once. At the same time, the warmth like a mother permeates my heart.

For dinner, I made Sophora japonica cake. Imitate the mother's practice in memory: first blanch Sophora japonica with boiling water, let it cool, then add appropriate amount of salt and essence, sprinkle corn flour and white flour, stir well, spread it in a steamer, and steam it for ten minutes by SAIC.

Ten minutes later, I lifted the lid, and under the misty water vapor, the pale yellow Sophora japonica cake came down from the celestial world and appeared in front of my eyes. I can't wait to pick up a chopstick and put it in my mouth-soft and sweet. This taste has a long history, as if it came through time and space, and it spread clearly and truly between the teeth and cheeks and was happy.

How to enjoy childhood food alone? I was busy preparing dipping sauce, so I called my friend and invited him to try it. As soon as they heard that I steamed Sophora japonica cake, they were shocked for a moment, so they stopped wasting their breath and hung up the phone immediately.

The speed at which they came surprised me. Before I could set the chopsticks slowly, someone just grabbed a piece and put it in my mouth. It is really rare for people to eat like this in middle age. I can't help teasing them: pay attention to the image, be a lady, and don't make a well-off society look like a disaster victim, which will cause greater losses.

They replied nonchalantly: That's how they ate when they were children. When the cake of Sophora japonica was served on the table, we children grabbed it with our hands and burned our hands without chopsticks. This matter has made my mother say several times that girls eat badly and make people laugh.

Speaking of this, a friend was stunned for a moment, and there was a faint flash in his eyes. I know, she misses her mother. Because, there is mother's shadow and taste in Sophora japonica cake.

I simply abandon chopsticks and eat directly with my hands. It feels really different. This is the most primitive way for human beings to eat. Let the food contact with the hand first, so as to produce the first touch, and then send it into the mouth to produce the taste. This feeling of progress is more intimate and profound than understanding food with chopsticks. No wonder Xinjiang hand-grabbed meat tastes particularly delicious. Does it have anything to do with how to eat?

Aunt Li's son is not confused about his age. He will also eat Sophora japonica cake tonight. No matter how old you are, when you want to eat, there are mothers who make Sophora japonica cakes for yourself and relive childhood memories. Sophora cake is the most delicious food in the world.