AWB Chapter 29 Tomato Sauce
Chapter 29 Tomato Sauce
Aunt Hu Cui greeted Xia Shiyu as soon as she saw him coming.
"Xiao Yu is back."
Xia Shiyu smiled and replied to her aunt, "Yes, Aunt, what brings you here today? Why don't you have a meal before you leave?"
Hu Cui waved her hand, "No need, no need. I came here today to talk to you about something, and then I have to go to the next place."
"Oh, what's up?" Xia Shiyu sat down next to her mother with some curiosity.
"Hey, isn't your older cousin getting married soon? I'm calling you guys so you can help out and have a meal together."
Xia Shiyu exclaimed in surprise, "My eldest cousin is getting married to Sister Lanlan?"
Yu Juan was also a little surprised, "Oh my, I remember Xia Lang only graduated a few years ago, time flies so fast, he's getting married already."
Xia Shiyu nodded. Her older cousin was only two or three years older than her, and he was already married. She thought it was quite early.
Hu Cui smiled and said, "It's not too early. They've known each other for a few years, so it's fine for them to get married sooner. If they have a grandson or granddaughter, I can take care of them for a few more years while I'm still young."
Yu Juan nodded, "That's true, but your house is quite lively now."
"Oh, it's nothing special, but you must come to the wedding banquet on the fifteenth of this month."
"Of course, of course, how could we forget?" Yu Juan smiled and saw him off a few steps, then asked if he wanted to stay a little longer.
"No need, no need. I'm in a hurry to talk to other people about this. You can take your time."
After seeing Hu Cui off, Yu Juan was still somewhat emotional, saying, "In the blink of an eye, you children have all grown up and are now getting married."
Xia Shiyu felt the same way, "Time really does fly by."
She interrupted her mother's thoughts as soon as she finished speaking, "Alright, let's not think about these things anymore. Let's just wait for the wedding banquet after the fifteenth."
Xia Shiyu did some calculations and found that her first batch of chives might be ripe by the 15th of this month. She might be able to send some over to her aunt and uncle then, but she suddenly found herself with free time during this period.
Xia Shiyu felt that this was not working and that he had to do something.
Looking at the tomatoes in the basket at home, Xia Shiyu thought she might as well make some tomato sauce. She could keep it for herself or sell it.
"Mom, why don't we make some tomato sauce?" Xia Shiyu suggested.
"Ketchup, huh?" Yu Juan glanced at the tomatoes next to her and hesitated.
"It seems like we can sell out of these. If we use them to make sauce, we'll lose a lot of them."
"Mom, we can take the slightly less good ones. Some of the damaged ones are hard to sell, and it's good to keep some for ourselves or sell them. You saw these tomatoes, they look delicious."
After Xia Shiyu finished speaking, Yu Juan was convinced.
She nodded, "Sure, making a little will be perfect so I can give some to my relatives when I visit them."
A relative in the countryside likes to give each other some of their own farm produce. Last time, someone gave her some homemade vermicelli, so she decided to give them some tomato sauce in return.
After making the decision, the two picked a small batch of tomatoes. However, Xia Shiyu discovered that the seeds produced by Fairy Tale World were too excellent. Apart from those tomatoes that were not harvested in time and were about to rot, there were basically no bad or substandard tomatoes in this large area.
So afterwards she just picked whatever was available and put it in the bamboo basket.
After picking the fruit with Yu Juan, they got into a small tricycle and drove back home.
After arriving home, the two first poured the tomatoes into a large basin and washed them with clean water. There are actually many ways to make tomato sauce, but Xia Shiyu likes to make it with some fruit pulp, which adds to the texture.
After washing the tomatoes, they need to peel them first, which is a bit troublesome. It's easier to peel them if you put them in the refrigerator to chill first.
However, Xia Shiyu felt that that would affect the freshness of the tomatoes, so she simply made a cross on the top of each tomato, put it in a pot, and scalded it with boiling water for one minute, which made it easy to peel.
After peeling the tomatoes, cut them into small pieces and put them in a blender to blend. They don't need to be blended very finely.
Put the chopped tomatoes into a pot and simmer over low heat. You can add rock sugar and lemon juice while simmering. Stir constantly with a spoon to prevent it from burning. This process should last for more than half an hour. Finally, add a little salt.
As Xia Shiyu moved, the tomato flavor blended with other added foods to create a unique taste.
Xia Shiyu was very satisfied with the smell; it was completely different from the cheap, plastic-tasting ketchup she had eaten at some burger joints.
Indeed, the best and freshest food is still homemade, without too many preservatives. Just store it properly and eat it all at once.
Xia Shiyu stirred the mixture slowly with a spoon, and casually asked her mother, "Mom, do we have that many glass jars left? Find a few so I can fill them later."
After hearing this, Yu Juan slapped her thigh and said in annoyance, "Oh dear, it seems we don't have that many glass jars at home. Wait here, I'll go to the village store and buy a few."
"Okay, you go ahead. I'll keep an eye on the pot; it'll be a while."
After Yu Juan finished speaking, she walked directly towards the village store at the entrance, which was conveniently located not far away.
Xia Shiyu patiently simmered it, and the unique flavor traveled up the chimney and then drifted away with the air.
Zhang Haiyan next door sniffed, followed the smell and looked over, muttering to herself, "What delicious food are they making? It smells sweet and sour, it's quite tempting."
Ma Dali fanned himself with the large palm-leaf fan in his hand. "It smells like tomatoes to me. They're probably making something delicious. Young people like to keep up the latest trends."
"Yeah, let's not think about that anymore. At worst, I'll find a way to exchange some with Juan to try later."
After Xia Shiyu had cooked the soup until it was thick, Yu Juan returned and washed the glass jar she had bought, placing it next to the kitchen.
Xia Shiyu added a little salt at the end, and after cooking for a while, she scooped it up with a spoon and put it into a glass jar.
Don't put the lids on them yet. Just let them cool down before storing them in the refrigerator.
Pot after pot of tomato sauce was put into the pot and cooked, following the same steps as before, until it thickened and then put into the pot.
Xia Shiyu felt a great sense of accomplishment looking at the pile of tomato sauce in front of her. She took out her phone, took a few photos, and sent them to her university dormitory group and a small group of classmates from high school.
She doesn't have any best friends or close friends she can talk to anytime. From childhood to adulthood, she has always had friends who are only friends for a short period of time. In junior high school, she hung out with her junior high school classmates; in high school, she hung out with her high school classmates; and in college, she mostly hung out with her roommates. The only thing she was lucky about was that most of the people she met along the way were very kind. Although there were some minor frictions, the relationships were generally harmonious.
These relationships continued even two years into her career, and they could now be considered friendships.
This time, she posted the ketchup she made in the group chat, which immediately elicited responses from her friends.
[Lu Tingyu: Wow, Shi Yu, you're so capable! This looks delicious!]
[Yu Jia: Wow, Xia Xia is so skillful!]
[Huo Xinke: It looks really good, much brighter than the ones I saw in the supermarket. It would definitely taste great with fries.]
……
Xia Shiyu smiled as she read the replies, feeling much better. For someone with a desire to share, the earnest feedback from others was truly heartwarming.
So she tapped a few times and typed out a message in reply.
[Haha, give me your address, and I'll mail it to you in the next few days so you can try my cooking.]
Wow, thank you, beautiful lady.
[Gratitude.JPG]
[I can't wait! My mouth is watering!]
After sending the message, Xia Shiyu put away her phone, planning to mail some to them in a while.