- Gordon Dumoulin
New Spring Leek and Red Knitted New Year Socks....
The first springtime cut of Chinese leek or Chinese chives (韭菜 jiǔ cài , Allium tuberosum) is usually the most tasty of the whole season having had time to slow-grow and mature during wintertime.
Once leek has been seeded, it is coming back year after year and you can cut the leaves several times during springtime and summer but the first cut is the best ! It is a species of onion native to the northern Chinese province of Shanxi, and now cultivated in Asia and around the world.
When picking up my mother-in-law yesterday from my wife’s hometown village at the edge of Beijing’s Tongzhou district, the delicious nutty, onion hinted smell of the first spring leek from the garden immediately filled the car.
With yummy fresh leek dumplings today for lunch !
The leek was brought along with red babysocks knitted by her sister, our babyboy’s grand-aunt. The socks had been ready since Chinese New Year but due to the coronavirus outbreak, we could not make the usual visits to all family relatives for paying respect.
Even though life has drastically changed since the coronavirus , the cycles of nature and traditions are keeping us in perspective with humbleness and gratitude.