oh! dumplings! ah! ah! mmm.

I made dumplings from scratch to both satisfy my starch craving and try to make up for the fact that I was making soup from a packet.
The soup is surprisingly good considering its origins, and the dumplings are awfully tasty (dill is a nice touch!) despite the panic attack the Better Homes New Cook Book tried to give me by saying in the instructions to cook them until you can poke a toothpick in them and it comes out clean, but NEVER, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, TAKE THE LID OFF THE POT while the dumplings are cooking.
There I was, doing an anxious dance with my toothpick, looking between the clock and the pot lid, not exactly sure what to do.
It came out ok, though.
mmm, dumplings.