Dumpling Daze

Grandma has been hankering for dumplings for several weeks now.  We wanted to make her some but weren't sure what recipe to use.  Grandma eats gluten-free.

Emma and I thought that the Urban Poser's tortilla recipe would give us a good starting place for strip dumpling experimentation.  It uses Otto's Cassava Flour which is naturally gluten and grain free.

Grandma nixed this idea, favoring biscuit-type dumplings made from a gluten-free mix that she had on hand.  It includes corn flour, which Emma is allergic to--thus the necessity of dual dumpling development.  Emma made the strip dumplings while I made the biscuit ones.

With both of us working in close proximity to the stove and Emma's kitten, Elsie, underfoot and sometimes climbing our legs while our hands were doughy, it got pretty interesting at times.

Finally Emma stuck Elsie in her apron.  We had a few moments of peace, for which we were grateful.

I cooked Grandma's dumplings in a separate pot of chicken broth to avoid cross-contamination.   They turned out well, and she scarfed them up.  Yay!  It's great to be able to satisfy someone's craving, especially when that someone is in a wheelchair and can no longer cook for herself.

The cassava flour ones were definitely not like the traditional Southern (white-flour) strip dumplings that I grew up eating in Chicken and Dumplings.  But they were still good, and we're looking forward to trying them again with the addition of some grain-free baking powder to make them a little fluffier.  And I think Emma said she will roll them out a little thicker as well.  The only thing we regretted with this first try was not having more homemade chicken bone broth on hand to make a bigger batch of soup.

One word of warning.  If you grew up nibbling dumpling dough while you made the dumplings like I did, do not try this with cassava flour.  It tastes gross.  Bleh!