Chicken and Dumplings Soup

I had a Jewish roommate back in my youth.  She talked on and on about her mother's chicken soup.  Then one day she decided she would make chicken soup.  She took a stalk of celery and a whole chicken and an onion and put in it in a pot and cooked it till the chicken was done.  It was the most boring thing I ever ate.  I don't believe that was her mother's recipe.

Well I'm not Jewish but this is some pretty good chicken soup.  It starts the way I pretty much start everything - onions and peppers and garlic.  I used a yellow bell pepper because the color looks so good.  Red will do as well.  Also a word about cumin - do not think cumin is just for chili or Mexican food.  It is a staple in Indian, North African and middle eastern cuisine as well.  It is very versatile.  Go ahead and put it in your chicken soup.  You will not be sorry.

1 yellow onion, slicked thin

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 stalk celery, sliced thin

1 Cup carrots, sliced

4 chicken thighs, with skin and bone

1 Tbl flour

1 Cup dry white wine

1/8 tsp (or whatever) cumin

1/4 tsp sage

Salt

Pepper

Heat the pan.  I use a big whole cast iron pot.  Add about a tbl of olive oil.  Saute onions, peppers and garlic until translucent. Add Sage, Cumin and salt and pepper  Add the flour and stir until it's kind of gloppy.  Add 1/2 cup white wine.  Stir and cook a few minutes, then spread the onion and pepper mixeture of to the side of the pan.  Put the chicken thighs in the middle and brown on both sides - like this:

Add the rest of the wine, carrots and five cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, put a lid on it and leave it alone for 2-3 hours.  Your house will smell wonderful on a rainy day like today.

When the chicken is cooked, take it out, remove the skin, take it off the bone and put the meat back in the pot.

Make your dumplings--- I like mine pretty simple: Basically eggs and flour - 
 Beat 3 eggs with about 1/4 cup of milk.  Stir in 2 cups of flour - eventually it will get doughy and you will have to sick your hands in their and knead it a bit.  Divide it into little balls .  Turn the heat up on your soup until almost boiling, drop the dumplings in and let them simmer for about 10 minutes.  Your kids will fight over the dumplings.