Chicken & Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings is an old southern standard. It's one of those delicious but economical dishes that you can make when all you have is some not so choice chicken parts, flour, water, and some salt and pepper. This recipe isn't exactly traditional, but it'll still make you appreciate Grandma's thriftiness.

For the soup, you will need: about a pound of the parts of the chicken most "shi-shi" folks wouldn't eat, like the tips of the wings, neck bones, etc. 3 tablespoons of olive oil 1 large onion, chopped not too finely 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely or crushed with a dash of salt to blossom the flavor 1 good tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley 1/2 teaspoon dried sage black pepper and salt to your taste around 4 litres of water

For the dumplings, you will need:

• 3 cups of plain white flour or whole wheat flour with gluten added
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• enough water to make a wet ball of dough, usually around 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups

Instructions:

1. Mix the flour, baking soda, yeast, and salt in a large bowl.

2. Add enough water to make a sticky ball of dough. It shouldn't be too thin. You're supposed to end up with it still in a sort of ball, but a wet ball. Use your fingers or a fork to mix it as well as possible, so there are at least no dry clumps of flour.

3. Cover the bowl with a cloth, and set this aside in a fairly warm place to give the yeast and baking soda a chance to activate.

4. In a large pot, saute the chicken and onions a little in the olive oil.

5. Then add the parsley, garlic, and sage just as the onions are beginning to be a little clear. Stir these a little while.

6. Add the water, and stir, scraping from the bottom of the pot. Then add a dash or two of pepper, and as much salt as needed for your taste. If you like, you can use chicken soup mix instead of actual salt.

8. Cover the pot, and bring the soup to a boil on high heat, and then turn the heat down to medium-low for 1 hour (or longer). Then scoop out all of the chicken parts, and pick what meat you can off them, and put this back into the soup..

9. Bring the soup back up to a rolling boil, and then start adding your dumplings. You'll pinch off a couple of fingers' worth of the dough at a time, and then drop it into the boiling soup.

10. Once all your dumplings are in, turn the head down to medium-low again, and cover the pot again, and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve this hot in bowls. Don't be surprised if you run out of dumplings before you run out of soup. When you reheat the leftovers, just make another batch of dumplings, bring it to a boil, and do it again. You can also add rice the next day instead, for a wonderful chicken and rice dish.