'e' is for explorateur cheese

How can anyone govern a nation with 246 different kinds of cheese? ~ Charles de Gaulle

Explorateur cheese is out of this world. Invented in the late 1950's, it was named for the first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, and the awesome little rocket still appears on the packaging today. Explorateur was created by Fromagerie Petit-Morin shortly after 'triple cream' cheese was officially defined as cheese containing at least 75% butterfat. To put things in perspective, double cream cheese has 60% butterfat, and butter has 100% butterfat. Because it's, you know, butter. A high level of butterfat is achieved by adding lots and lots of cream to the milk and the result is, of course, a rich and gooey delight. Explorateur's soft, creamy interior is coated in a light, velvety rind that breaks open ever so gently to reveal the oozey goodness inside. Its flavor is decadent and mild, with a subtle woodsy undertone. Simply put, it's the dreamiest of cheeses.

In related news, cheese has been linked to nightmares. But you'll be relieved to know the British Cheese Board has refuted this notion. In 2005, they studied the effect of cheese upon sleep and dreaming and discovered that cheese had a positive effect on sleep. The majority of the two hundred people tested claimed beneficial results from consuming cheese before bedtime. In fact, six types of cheese were tested and it seems the dreams the subjects experienced were entirely dependent upon the type of cheese consumed. Post-cheese-consuming dreams were described as colorful, vivid or cryptic but fortunately horror-free.

Just in case you are silently doubting the existence of The British Cheese Board, you can find them on Twitter! It's true! Recent Tweet: Cornish Yarg, a cheese coated in nettle leaves, came from a recipe book found in a farmer's attic-his name was Mr Gray (Yarg spelt backwards!) 11:57 AM Sep 30th from web.

I'm so happy right now. :)

Anyhoo, if you are as old as I am, you may remember the sheer joy and excitement you would feel upon shuffling, bleary-eyed into your 8th grade history class and having your teacher announce you were going to have a film that day. That's what they were called back then - films. And they really were too - films wrapped around a real-live-reel that that would sometimes break or otherwise go awry and would often sputter and skip and crunch along, but still. There was nothing so awesome as knowing you'd soon be sitting in darkness - no lecture, no notes - just you - with your head resting blissfully on your folded arms watching flowers blooming in fast motion or insects mating in slow motion or, maybe, one time, this.