Here is an adaptation from Vegetarian Pleasures. The origional recipe calls for 3 parsnips. I do not grow parsnips in my garden so I increase the carrots and potatoes. If you want to use parsnips, reduce the carrots by 2 and the potatoes by 1. This is my favorite dish and it has become our Christmas Eve dish/tradition. This dish really shows off the bounty from my garden's harvest.
stew:Cover the lima beans with plenty of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then cover and soak overnight. Drain off water.
Combine the lima beans, stock, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic in the crock pot. Add the salt, bay leaves, cloves, and cayenne pepper.
Cook on High 4-6 hours.
Prepare the dumplings. Combine the flours, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a medium-size bowl, and mix well. Cut in the butter until small crumbs are formed, then stir in the milk and 1/2 C corn stirring just until evenly moistened. Do not over-mix. Cover and chill until ready to use. (the chilled batter will keep up to 24 hours.)
Check the lima beans and potatoes after 4-6 hours to see if they are cooked through. If so, add the corn, parsley, and ground pepper to taste. Add more salt if needed. Let cook on high until mixture starts to bubble again. This takes about 30 minutes in my crockpot.
Drop dumpling mixture by tablespoonfuls into the stew and cover again. Cook an additional 45 minutes to 1 hour on high. Or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a dumpling comes out clean. (I always drop the dumplings in, cover again, and then go out to do chores and milk the goats. By the time I get back to the house the dumplings are always perfectly done, no matter how long it took to do chores!)