春来荠菜鲜

杨文革

“城中桃李愁風雨，春在溪头荠菜花。”春回大地，荠菜迫不及待地崭露头角。青嫩翠绿，清香袭人。越冬的荠菜，在冬雪中养精蓄锐，在春雨中迫不及待，带着鲜亮清新的野味，在春风里闪亮登场。

“二月荠菜赛灵丹”。荠菜是春天最早冒头的野菜之一，因此有“报春菜”和“春菜第一鲜”之称，是春天餐桌上最鲜美的绿色食品。在春日暖阳下，与朋友结伴，拿着小铲，挎着小篮，在一片绿油油的田地里，寻找着荠菜的踪迹。瞅准一棵嫩绿的荠菜，把铲子铲进土里，轻轻往上一撬，一颗完整的荠菜便被连根挖出。提起荠菜，轻轻抖去根和叶茎上的土，连同喜悦一起装入篮中。闻着田野里泥土的芬芳，野菜的清香，与同伴们说说笑笑中，不一会儿功夫，鲜嫩的荠菜就装满了篮子。把篮子里的荠菜用手往下压一压，篮子上面有了一部分空间，还可以再往篮子里装上一些。挖呀挖呀，运气好的时候，可以挖到荠菜的“老窝”，直接捅到了荠菜堆里。连成一片的荠菜，盈盈欲滴，绿油油地呈现在眼前。

挖回来的荠菜，可以炒鸡蛋，可以包荠菜水饺，还可以做荠菜汤，原汁原味，回味无穷。在早春把新挖的荠菜，去根摘净，用热水焯一下，放在清水里浸泡后，挤干水份，放在冰箱里冷冻备用。待到夏日炎炎或是雪花飘飘时，拿出来食用，味道依旧鲜美。荠菜素有“野菜之王”的美誉，含有丰富的维生素c、胡萝卜素及多种矿物质，具有养肝明目、清热解毒、利尿消肿等作用。春季多吃荠菜，对身体大有益处。

荠菜带着春天的味道，伴随着阳光、雨露和山野之风，生长在树林和田野，是土地的恩赐，是春日大自然的美味馈赠。春末夏初，碧绿的荠菜过了鲜嫩食用期，茎叶间长出了白色的花朵，孕育着饱满的种子，播撒在温润的田野里，迎接来年早春的新一波嫩绿鲜美之旅。

挖荠菜是喜爱，是收获。吃春天的鲜嫩荠菜，不仅是满足味蕾的享受，更是一种对土地的眷恋，对大自然的敬畏，对幸福生活的热爱。

“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.