To want stew and dumplings

💯 it would work! I had this yesterday

Sorry for your loss. Sounds lovely. Not in the UK, but one of the joys of Belgium is Flemish stew.

Because they aren't only eaten in the North.

Stew and dumplings is such a reassuring dish on a cold day! I make a gorgeous (if I say so myself) root veg stew (typically carrot, parsnip, turnip, swede, potato and sweet potato, with aromats like celery, onion, garlic and loads of rosemary; sometimes I chuck in veggie meatballs or veggie sausages but most of the time just veg) and dumplings with parsley and garlic (using veggie suet). Even the lone meat eater in our household gobbles it up. I plan to make a batch tomorrow.

I had stew and dumplings yesterday - was perfect on a freezing cold day!

And how old are you that you haven’t yet learned any tact? Or that “old fashioned” food is delightful? There is a lot of comfort to be gained from traditional British cooking.

I have added mince to my shopping list to make mince and dumpling later.

Look what you started @Trippingthelighteddaylight 🤗

Same re eating them as a child in London and still make stew and dumplings now

I don't think I've had dumplings since primary school. But I did notice a recipe for them as I was flicking through my books the other day...

I bloody love stew and dumplings. It’s such a warming, hearty meal. It’s one of 2 yo DGS’s favourites too.

I'm sorry for your loss OP. I for one would love a takeaway serving good, honest comfort food. My late mum always made the most wonderful stew and dumplings. I'm a pretty good cook thanks to her, but I could never get dumplings right and it's one thing I'd love to be able to make properly - or buy from someone else. There's a reason versions of dumplings exist all over the world.

to those puzzled how to cook stew - an easy recipe:

meat of choice, I use chicken thighs bone in
stock (to match meat) I use Lidl own brand
herbs de Provence or mixed herbs
mixture of vegetables eg carrots. Onions, swede, leek, parsnip, turnip (slightly soft in fridge is fine) chopped into bite sized pieces
6oz sr flour
3oz suet

brown meat
add onions and leeks and soften
add remaining veg, season
add stock, herbs and if desired garlic, bring to boil then simmer 45 minutes chicken, 90 minutes stewing steak. Meanwhile mix the flour and suet together, season add water to form balls. Option to add a herb eg sage to the balls. Put the dumplings into the stew and cook for 15 minutes turning once. Use corn flour to thicken the stock if needed but usually it thickens from the dumplings.

you can alter, make gluten free, make vegan (lentil stew plus can of tomatoes) spice it up …. Endless possibilities but a hearty stew is amazing on a cold day

I'm so sorry for your loss OP. A takeaway stew and dumplings business may well work as I'd say there is nothing else like it (at least where I am). A comfort food takeaway could be the way forward.

Until then, do you have any friends who could come to your aid? If you were my friend, I'd be there like a shot with some stew.

@PhantomAfternoonTea. Really? My dc had them as children growing up and they are in their 20’s but I scratch cook 95% of my food. Winter comfort food! (I cook a huge range of different cuisines but there’s something about stew and dumplings!)

Sound good to me, if you happen to live near me I’d happily pick up 2 portions on my way home, I’m working until 5 so no time to stew today …

I think my food bill. Would rocket ! Cheap and cheerful calories needed here

german potato dumplings are lush but avoid at all costs the bread ( semel?) dumplings / they are the density of lead

Oh God, we had an unexpected visit from a coeliac yesterday. The kitchen surfaces were covered with flour from my home made bread, and Christmas cake crumbs 😬 She accepted a herbal tea (our milk is oat milk), but despite having washed my hands about 3x, I'm still worried I might have contaminated her.

It really isn’t a ‘big deal’ - @RampantIvy - but it is quite fascinating to people who use flour all the time!

I’m always conscious of a slightly frightful time as a poor student, when I was forced to discover that flour and water, with a little oil, made a meal …

We went to Germany this summer and part of DS2 's kids meal in a biergarten in Nuremberg was a spherical potato dumpling the size of a tennis ball. A kind of uber dumpling, if you like.

I love dumplings and often add them to soups and stews. Although they are easy to make, I do cheat and buy frozen ones as I find they are a bit lighter than my homemade ones, I'm not sure why.

I rarely bake, don't have a sweet tooth, and basically a low-carber.

I don't eat pies, pizza, pancakes, pastries, and other stodgy stuff e.g. macaroni cheese; and I don't like gloopy gravy that's been thickened with flour - so mine is almost a flour-less household!

I’ve never had stew and dumplings either - I’m Scottish and it was never a thing on our “menu” at home growing up. (Do have flour though.)

Making a slow cooker of stew and freeze the excess into sensible portions is the most sensible way of approaching this.
This lady uses lovely containers for freezing portions.
https://www.facebook.com/simplysarahhart

Dumplings are a 'right now' thing.

If you open a takeaway please offer tubs of pickled red cabbage to go with it!

No, it isn't a big deal. I clearly cook different types of meals from you, plus I bake.