春來薺菜鮮

楊文革

“城中桃李愁風雨，春在溪頭薺菜花?！贝夯卮蟮?，薺菜迫不及待地嶄露頭角。青嫩翠綠，清香襲人。越冬的薺菜，在冬雪中養(yǎng)精蓄銳，在春雨中迫不及待，帶著鮮亮清新的野味，在春風里閃亮登場。

“二月薺菜賽靈丹”。薺菜是春天最早冒頭的野菜之一，因此有“報春菜”和“春菜第一鮮”之稱，是春天餐桌上最鮮美的綠色食品。在春日暖陽下，與朋友結(jié)伴，拿著小鏟，挎著小籃，在一片綠油油的田地里，尋找著薺菜的蹤跡。瞅準一棵嫩綠的薺菜，把鏟子鏟進土里，輕輕往上一撬，一顆完整的薺菜便被連根挖出。提起薺菜，輕輕抖去根和葉莖上的土，連同喜悅一起裝入籃中。聞著田野里泥土的芬芳，野菜的清香，與同伴們說說笑笑中，不一會兒功夫，鮮嫩的薺菜就裝滿了籃子。把籃子里的薺菜用手往下壓一壓，籃子上面有了一部分空間，還可以再往籃子里裝上一些。挖呀挖呀，運氣好的時候，可以挖到薺菜的“老窩”，直接捅到了薺菜堆里。連成一片的薺菜，盈盈欲滴，綠油油地呈現(xiàn)在眼前。

挖回來的薺菜，可以炒雞蛋，可以包薺菜水餃，還可以做薺菜湯，原汁原味，回味無窮。在早春把新挖的薺菜，去根摘凈，用熱水焯一下，放在清水里浸泡后，擠干水份，放在冰箱里冷凍備用。待到夏日炎炎或是雪花飄飄時，拿出來食用，味道依舊鮮美。薺菜素有“野菜之王”的美譽，含有豐富的維生素c、胡蘿卜素及多種礦物質(zhì)，具有養(yǎng)肝明目、清熱解毒、利尿消腫等作用。春季多吃薺菜，對身體大有益處。

薺菜帶著春天的味道，伴隨著陽光、雨露和山野之風，生長在樹林和田野，是土地的恩賜，是春日大自然的美味饋贈。春末夏初，碧綠的薺菜過了鮮嫩食用期，莖葉間長出了白色的花朵，孕育著飽滿的種子，播撒在溫潤的田野里，迎接來年早春的新一波嫩綠鮮美之旅。

挖薺菜是喜愛，是收獲。吃春天的鮮嫩薺菜，不僅是滿足味蕾的享受，更是一種對土地的眷戀，對大自然的敬畏，對幸福生活的熱愛。

“Peach and plum blossoms suffered the damage of wind and rain， but the fresh shepherds purse flowers along the streams constitute the most beautiful scene of spring.” When spring returns to the earth， and the spring breeze blows， the shepherds purse comes up from the earth still with the fragrant smell of the soil. Green and tender， the shepherds purse has a refreshing fragrance. The overwinter shepherds purse nourishes its vitality in winter snow and appears eagerly with fresh smell of the nature in the spring rain， shining brightly in the spring breeze.

“Shepherds purse in February is better than any panacea”. Shepherds purse is one of the earliest wild vegetables to emerge in spring and hence is known as “primrose” and “the freshest spring vegetable”， the most delicious taste on the dining table in spring. In the warm spring， I often go to dig shepherds purse in the field together with three or five friends. With a small shovel and a small basket on my shoulder， I search for the tender green traces of shepherds purse carefully in the lush field. When I find one， I will shovel it out of the soil gently together with the roots. After shaking off the soil on the roots and stems of the shepherds purse， I put it into my basket along with the joy of harvest. Smelling the fragrance of the soil and wild vegetables in the field while chatting and laughing with my companions， I soon get my basket full of green and tender shepherds purse. I press down the shepherds purse in the basket with my hand to get some extra space so that I can also add some more to the basket. When we are lucky， we can find large areas of shepherds purse， which we call it the “old nest” of shepherds purse， where large patches of green tender shepherds purse overflow before our eyes.