fall- 3 thumbs up!

(image from here...take that Martha! seriously M-dog goes bonkers for halloween, have you seen her halloween special issues????)

alright, my favorite time of year has come. thats right, its fall people. I...am...so....jazzed, especially when I see my beloved candy apples in the store (not the fancy ones, mind you, the ones at stop and shop...why must they come in 3 packs?? I have to hide them to trick myself to only eat one. also, I have yet to master eating one and driving). i bought a loaf of pumpkin wheat bread at the farmers market this weekend (I really wanted the sweet potato pecan bread but $7 seemed a bit steep for bread). it makes me long to eat my favorite boston pizza: 'the seasonal',which is only available at select times at penguins' pizza, with toppings like butternut squash, goat cheese and sage. I've decided to review my fall food/drinks so far (you know, to help you out of course):

1- dunkin donuts' pumpkin muffin
aah, streusel. you make everything so amazing! I can't believe you are only butter, flour, sugar and cinnamon! anyways, I was psyched to eat one as I am every year. However, this year's fell flat. Did I built it up too much? Probably. It is an unsettlingly (can I use that word???) moist muffin. Also, I failed to mention I did eat the whole thing so it wasn't that bad.

2- starbucks' pumpkin latte (iced)
I'm not a big hot coffee person, except after meals. I am iced year round. so I was very excited to have this drink. It was great (except the fact that I always get mediums, do I mean grandes?, and I think it was almost $5). not too sweet (D&D's is way too sweet for me), definitely delicious. you should get one!

3- trader joe's pumpkin pancake mix
granted we had these for breakfast way before fall. there is something I don't like about having pumkin things off season but whats done is done. that being said, they were very tasty! very heavily spiced but very tasty! buy some!

4- starbucks' salted caramel hot chocolate
I was pretty stoked about this. I love the salted caramel thing thats everywhere nowadays. I love when foods I like become trendy (see also: cupcakes) because then I can get them everywhere! Anyways, back to the cocoa. Basically, it was salty cocoa. Delicious, but not what I thought.

also, I am going to apple and pumpkin picking next weekend (!!!!) and helping bake a sure to be award winning pie. all I need is one of those pumpkin sweater vests from marshalls and I will officially be in the zone. also, I'm going to carve the crap out of that pumpkin.

and just for fun!

old favorites:
super simple pumpkin tiramisu
pumpkin creme brulee
oatmeal apple scones
cazuela baked apples

want to try:
squash potstickers
sweet potato gnocchi (I just bought a ricer!)
leek bread pudding
apple butter

whats your favorite fall food item? do you love fall as much as me?
(well you might think you do...you don't)