INGREDIENTS:

1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds cut up)
6 chicken wings
1 large Spanish onion, chopped and sautéed but not browned
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
Bouquet Garni
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For Bouquet Garni

3 bay leaves
8 black peppercorns
Tops from two stalks of celery
1 teaspoon margarine

For Drop Dumplings

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 heaping teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash and pat dry chicken. Take flange off chicken wings.
2.  Place cut-up chicken and wings into large, heavy pot and add water to cover 1-inch above chicken.
3.  Add onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and Bouquet Garni. Season with salt and pepper.
4.  Allow mixture to simmer slowly for 1 1/2 hours. Let cool. Remove any foam that has gathered on top of the broth.

4.  Bring broth to a slight boil, and drop heaping tablespoons of dumpling batter into pot. Fill top of pot with dumplings. Cover pot, and simmer for 15 minutes - dumplings will rise.

5.  Baste dumplings, and continue simmering for another 5 minutes. Remove cover and baste dumplings. Serve hot on platter.

For Bouquet Garni
1.  Cut double thickness of cheesecloth 6 inches wide. Place bay leaves, peppercorns, celery tops, and margarine in center of cheesecloth. Pull corners of cheesecloth together, and tie with kitchen twine.

For Drop Dumplings

1.  Sift flour, salt, and baking powder into mixing bowl. Add butter, mixing with fingertips, then milk, until mixture is consistency of grainy cornmeal.

Excerpted from Hallelujah! The Welcome Table by Maya Angelou Copyright © 2004 by Maya Angelou. Excerpted by permission of Random House Group, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.