Dumplings-don't freak out

[badgercat]

Those dumplings look like the ones my grandma used to make. Her ancestors hailed from Bohemia; my grandfather's from Poland. So I'm used to eating like Czech-Polish-American fusion at holidays with my mom's side of the family. Dumplings and sauerkraut and kielbasa... and kolacky and listy for dessert... yummmmmmy. There were many Eastern European influenced restaurants and grocers to be found in the Chicago area where I grew up, but not so much in Tucson, AZ where I live now, so I miss the food. I have some of my grandma's recipes, but I'll never be able to make the food taste as good as she did.

[shootingstar]

Not all dumplings are "bad".

But adjusting any recipe to make it healthier does require some experimentation..which alot of us don't have time all the time. My mother did create a lighter bao that wasn't just whole wheat (abit low on flavour) but less dense, less thick in texture compared to what one sees in Chinatown. This experimentation was all part of her whole gradual transition to cooking healthier Chinese food for family over....last 30 yrs.

My partner's mother also did some major changes to healthier recipe versions for traditional German dishes in the remaining 40 yrs. of her life. Unlike the steretypical heavy German cooking, her dishes had a "lighter" texture, less fat, less sugar, etc.

Though I cannot make bao nor the multitude of other dim sum varieties at this time, at least I do prepare happily, home Chinese dishes that are healthy but are grounded in tradition..probably for centuries...BUT not often served in Chinese restaurants.

So these recipes (not written down anywhere. Just learned at my mother's elbow as a teen.) will be part of my cooking DNA, past and present cooking --forever.

Badgercat, badger hope you find a way to keep and cook 1-2 of your favourite recipes, adjusted to your liking.