we all scream for dumplings

I had a roommate once who swore that living with my boyfriend and I made her gain weight. We cooked every night and the food was so good that she was overeating, she said. So she joined Weight Watchers and started working out, and as part of her program, she brought home a Weight Watchers cookbook. Normally, we would have been snide (who knows, we may have been at the time, I can't remember), but curiosity got the best of us - we wanted to know what Weight Watchers food looked like. Here's the thing. That little cookbook had some dynamite recipes. Unfortunately, when we went our separate ways, we lost those little gems - that is, until a friend sent us a Colorado cookbook one year. Inside, we found the same recipe for one of our favorite quickie meals from the lost cookbook.

Anyhow, we lost track of this one again, somehow we hadn't made it in more than a year when Cass rediscovered it. Holy cow it's good - warm, comforting, and yet really light. I think it'll be just the thing for the upcoming post-Turkey week. I sometimes add a second bag of spinach to the broth and skip the salad for the night.

Herb Dumplings and Spinach in Broth

1 c flour
1 1/2 Tbl minced fresh herbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 ts salt
1 1/2 tsp shortening
1/2 c. milk (or soy milk)
6 c. vegetable broth (I use Trader Joe's boxed vegetable broth)
4 c. fresh baby spinach (I use one - or two! - bags of Trader Joe's baby spinach)

combine the flour, herbs, baking powder and salt in a bowl and mix well. Cut in the shortening until crumbly. Add the milk and stir with a wooden spoon until mixed. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead for 1 minutes. Pat the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle. Cut into 32 pieces.

Bring the broth to a simmer in a stockpot. add the dough pieces. Cook, covered, for 10-13 minutes; do not remove lid until the dumplings are cooked through. Fold in the spinach with a heatproof rubber spatula. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

enjoy!