Chicken and Dumplings

It’s gotten chilly enough here that I’ve been craving something soul-soothing. My sister-in-law and I both get “Cooking Light” magazine. She cooks more than I do, and last week she made the Chicken & Dumplings from the October 2008 issue. It looked so good I decided to try it myself. I made a few changes, based on how hers turned out, adding a little more baking powder to the dumplings, as well as cutting in a tablespoon of butter. I was wondering how this would be different from just regular chicken soup. I’m not sure if I overcooked the dumplings (15 minutes), they weren’t as fluffy as when I checked them at 10 minutes., but they sort of dissolved a little, thickening the broth. Anyway, the dish was wonderful, comforting like beef stew is but lighter since it’s chicken. The bread in the picture is my homemade sourdough. I finally got it to taste somewhat like San Francisco. I combined the starter with the liquids and a bit of the flour, and let it sit overnight, before incorporating it into the dough. Just that little bit of sitting out, really helped develop the flavor.

I started listening to audiobooks again, I’d sort of slacked off and then got interested again when the library got “The Girl With No Shadow” by Joanne Harris, which is the sequel to “Chocolat.” I thought it was OK. Fortunately “Chocolat” was on TV again recently so I was able to watch it again. Definitely one of those where the book is better than the movie, but after so many years, the movie wasn’t so bad, just not as good as the book (it’s hard to convey descriptions in a 2 hour movie).Now I’ve started on Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight.” It got so many rave reviews and after listening to her other novel “The Host” I was looking forward to it. So far, it seems geared towards kids. Harry Potter is geared towards kids too but does a better job of drawing in an adult audience. I listen to the audiobooks when I’m driving, or even at home like when I’m doing dishes. It really helps me get through mundane tasks like that.