1. i recently went to chinatown and brought home enough frozen bao to feed a squad of sumo wrestlers.

some have red bean, and the rest have various meats (oh yeah, i'm over that vegetarian thing).

i had a mixed variety for breakfast, lunch, and dinner today.

i'm not even kidding.

they. are. SO. GOOD.

and p.s. whoever had the idea of low sodium soy sauce is an idiot.

2. monsieur cheese at the whole foods in columbus circle

talked me into dropping an andrew jackson on a tiny wheel of,

"the best cheese you'll ever try."

it is epoisses berthaut

and when i got home, i ate about half of it.

and with every bite, i just wanted to hang on to the sweet,

smokey,

creamy,

RIDICULOUSLY GOOD

taste.

i can't wait to add it to a béchamel and make some mac with it.

(or is that uncouth for a cheese of this caliber?)

{p.s. totally stole this pic from one of my new fave blogs, you are my fave.}

{p.p.s. can someone that's hip to cheese etiquette please tell me if i say, "this cheese is called epoisses berthaut?" or "this cheese is from epoisses berthaut?" or "this is an epoisses cheese from berthaut?" or none of the above?}

3. also at whole foods, i found lavender mint water.

i luv lavender.

and i'm always looking for ways to use it in food and drinks.

but this just tasted like yoga mat cleaner.

4. a few days ago i discovered a mustard section at the fairway on 74th that i've never seen before!!

i squeeled in excitement.

their first floor mustard section is pretttty happening.

but it didn't even occur to me to look for mustard on the second floor (where everything is organic).

i bought this stone ground brown mustard with apple cider vinegar.

it's tangy and acidic and delicious.

i've found it works well with an ale or sweet mustard.

5. i fulfilled one of autumn's rites of passage and made caramel apples last night.

there are none left.

oops.

("no shame november, no shame november")

6. i got sooo hungry reading this blog post by new blogger friend gaia.

she made red velvet cupcakes (among many other goodies)!

i told her i'd give her the cream cheese frosting recipe that i use,

but it's so good i have to share it with everyone:

{i stole it from paula deen}

ingredients:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup melted marshmallows
1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar

blend cream cheese and butter together in a mixing bowl.
add marshmallows and sugar and blend.
increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

that's it!

ohh kay.

gonna go eat now.

xoxo

yeh