Dumplings for Beef Stew

1 cup cake flour
2 t double-acting baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk (approx)
2-3 t freshly gorund black pepper to taste

Sift dry ingrdients together. Break egg into a 1 cup measuring cup. Beat egg.Add enough milk to measure 1/2 cup liquid. Beat well. Stir liquid slowly into the sifted ingredients. Add more milk if needed but keep the batter as stiff as possible.

Bring stew to a simmer. Drop spoonfuls of dumpling batter into simmering stew. Continue to do this until the dumplings are barely touching. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Do not lift the lid until the dumplings are done. After 10 minutes test for doneness by inserting a wooden toothpick. It should come out clean.

Makes 4 to 6 dumplings.

Notes:

You can replace the black pepper with 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley, or 1 T fresh chopped herbs, or 1/2 t grated onion and 3 T minced green pepper. But I find the black pepper is perfect for beef stew.