Tomato Dumplings

I love to garden. However, this year, I planted only 6 tomato plants. Six plants are plenty for good summer tomato eating but not quite enough for "putting up", aka canning. So, what do we do when we have more tomatoes than we can eat, but not enough to can? Besides spaghetti sauce and tomato cucumber salads, there's always tomato dumplings. I learned how to make tomato dumplings from my Aunt J when I was a girl. I absolutely love them!

You'll need:
4 large tomatoes
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 tsp. dried basil OR 1 tbls. fresh chopped basil
salt & pepper to taste
Dumplings:
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tbls. shortening OR lard
3 oz. milk To remove the skins from fresh tomatoes, place them in boiling water until the skin cracks. Transfer them to ice water. Slip the skins off and cut out the core. Coarsely chopped the skinned tomatoes.
Place coarsely chopped tomatoes, diced onions, and seasonings in a heavy pot. Stir well and cook over medium heat until onions are clear and "stew" begins to boil.
While the tomatoes are stewing, mix up the dumplings by combining the flours, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives cut in the shortening. Stir in the milk until well mixed. Drop dumpling mixture by teaspoonfuls onto the boiling stew. Reduce heat, cover and allow to "steam" for 10 minutes.
Serve with a slice of cornbread for a quick, frugal and very tasty dinner or add a salad for a light supper.
Makes 4 servings, recipe doubles well