5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

Eatocracy's Chief Junk Food Correspondent, also known as CNN's Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi drops by 5@5 to vent about palate cleansers, give us a crash course in Canadian foodways and engage in charming chattery about all things edible.

Five Smörgåsbord Thoughts on Food: Ali Velshi

As September wanes, I start my annual autumn affair with my ice cream maker. When cooler weather sets in, we get cozy and churn, baby, churn.

Honestly, I never quite appreciated the irony of heavy cream-based desserts abounding during bikini season. The ice cream truck jingle ends up turning into jiggle and while that's okay if you're a bowl of Jell-O, the beach isn't quite so forgiving. So, I flip fall the proverbial bird by making ice cream during sweater weather.

But since the weather is experiencing a tad of an identity crisis at the moment with record-breaking heat in various parts of the country, this weekend is the ideal time to whip up a cool taste of fall's fruitage.

A whole harvest of divine flavors come with autumn - apple cider, maple, cranberry, candied pecans - that you can, nay, should infuse into your frozen treats. Plus, the time is ripe to top a bowl of otherwise ordinary vanilla ice cream with end-of-season blueberries, peaches, plums, blackberries and a drizzle of honey.

It's the summer bounty's encore before the final curtain.

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More on Otarian

This just in from our D.C. Bureau, a press release from the White House:

The presentation of gifts to visiting foreign dignitaries is a time-honored tradition that helps transcend cultural barriers and offers a symbol of peace and friendship.

In honor of the 65th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly, First Lady Michelle Obama has assembled an assortment of gifts that reflect her past 20 months in the White House. The White House Kitchen Garden, which provides the Obama family and White House guests with delicious fresh produce, is the central theme behind this year’s gift.

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We use the unofficial tagline, "If it tastes good, it IS good" around these parts. This isn't to say that everything that tastes good is good FOR you - it's often rather the opposite case.

What we mean is that if something tastes good to you, and you like it, you don't need to apologize to anyone.

Not everyone feels that way.
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Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• Sausage double entendres will always be funny, even if you're a Swiss finance minister in the middle of a speech. - Guardian

• Pizza topped with smaller pizzas! - Gizmodo

• With a little molecular gastronomy know-how, you can have the flavor of fresh oranges and reduce your carbon footprint too. - GOOD

• Want to vent about your lukewarm soup? Restaurants are now accepting complaints in 140 characters or less.  - Associated Press

• Will the Child Nutrition Bill take away from food stamps? - New York Times

• Three trends to super-size fast food restaurants' profits. - TIME

Here's a great way to get your recommended daily dose for fruits and veggies - join a CSA or visit a farmers market.

Check in on Foursquare while you're picking out produce and get our new Healthy Eating badge - and possibly a gift from the grower.

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday and the most delicious finds on TV.

My, it's a jubilant day in the neighborhood - partially because September 24 has been dubbed Cherries Jubilee Day by the food holiday powers-that-be.

For those of you unfamiliar with the flambéed, or flaming, dessert, it is simplistically made by combining, and consequently igniting, fresh cherries and brandy (usually Kirschwasser, or Kirsch for short) in a saucepan. The resulting sauce is then generously spooned over vanilla ice cream. Et voila!: life is just a bowl of cherries.

What's on TV?
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