Brunswick Stew with Corn Dumplings

My college roommate used to bring canned Brunswick stew with her from North Carolina. I became obsessed, and now I've veganized it. I used Gardein for the protein. Seitan or soy curls would work well also.

Ingredients:

serves four

1 t. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 16 oz. can of tomatoes, crushed or diced
2 c. strong vegetable stock, or more to taste (depending on how brothy you like your stew)
1 bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 c. chopped parsley
3 red potatoes, peeled and diced small
1 16 oz. can of corn, divided
1-2 c. of vegan protein, rehydrated if necessary (amount refers to post-hydration)
1/2 t. liquid smoke
1 T. tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste

1 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2-3/4 c. nondairy milk

Directions:

Saute diced onion in oil. Add tomatoes, broth, garlic, bay leaf, parsley, and potato. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the potato is soft, about ten minutes. Add protein, half of the corn, smoke, tomato paste. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add in enough milk to make a fairly loose batter--think muffin texture. Fold in corn. Spoon over stew in 1/8 c. scoops. Cover and simmer for fifteen minutes. If the dumplings look dry on top, they are done. You may need to turn some of the dumplings over and cook a bit longer. The stew and the dumplings will not suffer.

note: If desired, add in 1/2 c. lima beans and/or 1/2 c. chopped okra with the potato. Both are traditional. If you do add these in, you may want to use more broth.