Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Sourdough Dumplings

Step 1: Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, celery, and carrot. Cook and stir until vegetables are softened, 5 - 6 minutes. Add chicken meat, bay leaves, broth, salt, and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer for 10 minutes.

Step 2: Meanwhile, prepare dumpling dough. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. In a different bowl, whisk together butter, pumpkin purée, and starter until combined. Add wet mixture to dry mixture. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Shape into 18 dumplings.

Step 3: Carefully drop dumplings into soup. Cover pot and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through.

NOTE 1: Starter recipes can be found all over the internet and can take some days to get it going and results in the most delicious products, so well worth it. The way I look at it, the days are going to come and go anyway, so why not prep something creative and beautiful while the days progress.

NOTE 2: The starter noted in this recipe is fed with equal amounts of flour and water by weight. If you have been feeding your starter by volume, reduce the amount of starter to 1/3 cup.