Friday, February 20, 2009

Un-Chicken 'n' Dumplins

When I was a kid, my mom and I traveled to Michigan City, Indiana every summer to visit some pseudo-relatives (they were actually my aunt's relatives, but they felt like family). The family matriarch, an almost senile old lady, always made chicken 'n' dumplins. Though they lived in Indiana, the family hailed from the South, so it wasn't uncommon for them to make traditional Southern dishes.

Since she was super-old and kinda losing it, she always left the chicken bones in the pot. Others had to go behind her back and pick them out before serving. Gross, huh? Well, my Un-Chicken 'n' Dumplins is totally bone-free:

This is another cookbook recipe that I'll likely put up on the tester site next week. I developed it last winter, but it needed some work, so I made it again on Tuesday night. It's basically chicken-flavored seitan cooked in a chicken-ish broth with whole wheat dumplins' (we never pronounce the "g" down here), potatoes, carrots, and peas. Perfect hearty dish for cold winter nights, which unfortunately we're having again after the spring tease of last week. Bah!

30 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Can't wait for your cookbook!!

Katy said...

Can you believe I've never had chicken and dumplings (I'm from the north and we say our G's, lol) before? Although, I'm glad I never had to risk chomping down on a bone. Yuck!

Jen said...

the usage of "g" in dumplings would depend on what part of indiana you visited. i live in southern IN and the folk don't use a g at all. i'm originally from MI and we overemphasize everything.

silly yankees. anyway, i'm stoked about some dumplinGs.

xo jewy

Anonymous said...

Yum. This looks awesome. I love "chicken" and dumplin's. No "g" in the Texas vocabulary. We had a cold spell last night too. It got down to 33 but now it is warming up to 73. Gotta love winters in the South.

miss v said...

looks really yum and comforting!

Veganissexy said...

Oh I love this one! My mom used to make this for me everytime I would come home from college. I can't wait to see the recipe. I love love love the idea of veganizing this one :)

Anna Graham Shonle said...

This looks like something we would love in our house. Yum!

Leslie Richman said...

Mmm that looks yummy!

Amanda said...

This reminds me of the time when I got off the schoolbus at my grandmother's, and she ladled me a big plate of dumplins. I found a small, suspicious bone and when I asked her about them, I found out that they weren't chicken and dumplins at all, but rather SQUIRREL and dumplins.

I was country, but not THAT country.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait for the cookbook Bianca! Seriously.

Jenn said...

I can't wait to try this.

I Delaware we make slippery dumplings. The annual chicken and dumpling is a popular fundraiser.

Anonymous said...

Oooh, I can't wait! I've never had chicken and dumplings, but I love dumplings. Yum, that looks super good.

jessy said...

this looks so awesome, Bianca! and we say dumplins' too! hooray! i can't wait to test them out!

The Vegan SlaughterHouse said...

get-it-girl! awesome!

Kelly said...

I seriously think that "dumplin(g)" is one of the strangest food-related words. That said, this looks so filling and comfort food-y!

Hungry Hungry Dancer said...

yumm!!!! do you make your own seitan or do you buy it

Anonymous said...

I used to beg my mum to make this, mostly to eat the veggies & dumpling biscuits - I'd pick out the chicken because I wanted more of the veggies! This is a great addition to your book!

Mike K said...

This reminds me of the chicken dumpling soup that my brother-in-law's mom made back home - as a kid those dumplings were one of my absolute favorite foods. Vegan dumplings are totally awesome too, and I've never missed the eggs. Need to make this soon!

Tara said...

Need. Dumplings. Now. This looks like such a nice, comforting dish!

aTxVegn said...

This looks wonderful - perfect comfort food and perfect for your cookbook!

Lisa said...

this sounds really creamy and comforting!

Vegan In The VI said...

How much longer till we can get this book?????

Macie said...

Wow, that looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

Bianca, I'm glad you remember the Michigan City days and my precious grandmother!! (and yes she did leave a few bones in. ha) I'm sure your recipe is good also....

Gina said...

I always used to get chicken and dumplings at Cracker Barrel, so this is totally my kind of thing!! Yummy yum.

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

YAY for bone free un-chicken 'n' dumplins!

It does look extremely comforting for this stupid cold weather that has come back!

Megan said...

omg, i can not WAIT for your cookbook!!

are those slick dumplins or the fat, doughy kind? the fat ones are my fav, but both tend to make me very very happy :)

Sheree' said...

I sure wish I was one of your testers because that meal looks wonderful! Mouthwatering good!!!

T said...

I love all things dumpling-like, so this looks awesome! Can't wait for your cookbook. :)

Theresa said...

I love dumplins sososososo much. I can't wait for your cookbook!