Once a week my daughter Stephanie and I like to enjoy a special cozy meal…( not the Totino’s… I’ll get back to that) which consists of a shared comfort food.

One of our favorites is buttermilk ( milk kefir) dumplings in white sauce… we love it because it can be made without eggs ( Stephanie despises eggs) … and is easily made with ingredients already found in our kitchen.

I’ve had a lot of fun playing with milk kefir this year as I resume my love of baking. ( Last fall I broadened the on and off again raw vegan diet I had followed for years, to include lacto- vegetarian ingredients) …

and one of the biggest ways I enjoy using it is in baked goods… I have found that it is a much easier way to make sour dough bread than tending to a sourdough starter …and it makes lovely dumplings like the ones Stephanie and I will be enjoying today…

additionally when not heated, it’s absolutely packed with probiotics and can be used in yogurt type sauces, smoothies, salad dressings.. etc.

Now about those Totino’s… I’m pretty sure that they are not made with milk kefir, and… from a nutritional view… probably not very healthy…

buut.. due to the effects that busyness and stress can have on a body… ( we’re not fond of excessive cortisol racing through us) … we sometimes indulge in snacks like Totino’s that signal rest … play … or even just nostalgia to our beings. ( our way of telling those stress hormones to back off).

All that to say … that as Stephanie readies another poetry collection ( submission deadline this week ) …

Pizza Rolls have once again become a laptop companion.

*THANK YOU Stephanie!! …:)