Friday's Fave Foods---Stewed Chicken with Dumplings

Part of my fascination with food and recipes is the geographical element. Wherever you go in the world, the local cuisine makes a statement about the place you are in. What products are available locally, what the economy is like. (I'm not talking about fast food here, that is a completely different subject, and one I will spare you from today)

Moving to the American South 13+ years ago opened up an entire new universe of food lingo and experiences! The great thing about cooking is that like gardening, like life, it is a process. Southern cooking is a deeply layered experience that spans generations of families, steeped in lore, tradition, economy, and sometimes survival. One of the greatest experiences I've had in my life is having lifelong Southern cooks open up to me, a native Californian, with their knowledge and their techniques. It's not stuff you will find in books! Out of respect, alot of that will never be published by me.

However, once you learn the lingo, a great source for Southern Cooking are the fundraising cookbooks that you find which are put together by families, schools, communities and churches. If you are interested in learning about regional cooking in the US, this is a great resource. My friend Janet sells one of these cookbooks, and it's from *Reed Creek Country Cooking that today's very traditional Southern recipe is derived.

**Stewed Chicken with Dumplings

Chicken

2 qt. boiling water

1 TBSP salt

1 cup flour

Pinch of salt

1 egg 1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup milk

Cut chicken in pieces and add to boiling water. Add salt; cook until chicken is tender. Mix flour, pinch of salt and baking powder, stir in slightly beaten egg. Add milk for dumpling dough. Drop 1 TBSP of dough at a time into broth around chicken. Steam 8 minutes in covered cooker. If uncovered while steaming, dumpling will fall.

Submitted by: Pearl Pyatt

*Reed Creek is a community in Hart County, Georgia

**She is not kidding about steaming the dumplings, if you uncover the pot before 8 minutes, you have messed up. Do not overcook the dumplings. Also, do not overwork the dumpling dough. I sometimes add fresh chopped parsey or parsley flakes to the dumpling dough. It's not shown in the picture, but the dumplings will blow up to about 5 or 6 times the original size, and they are good!