Space shuttle Discovery, meant to launch Dec. 7, will carry Thai chicken and two other dishes devised by Food Network star and TV talk show host Rachael Ray. She made the astonauts' meals in NASA's kitchens, the first from a food celebrity to fly on the shuttle. The meals will make "a nice … psychological twist for our crewmembers," says NASA food systems manager Vickie Kloeris.Space station astronauts have already sampled Emeril Lagasse's jambalaya and mashed potatoes with bacon, devoured on the station in August. German station resident Thomas Reiter told Lagasse, famous for his New Orleans-style fare, that it was "perfect" for satisfying the crew's "longing … for spicy food."
Most of the shuttle food is freeze-dried or heat-treated and can last for months - freeze-dried shrimp cocktail and irradiated steak for example. Ray's dishes, which were cooked at NASA's kitchens, will get eaten despite the astronauts' tendency to skip meals because they'll go in the fresh-food tray, which holds perishables such as fruit and favorite snacks of the crew's choice.
Appearing on Ray's talk show in October, Discovery commander Mark Polansky, an avid cook, pronounced Ray's chicken "great." The crew can also dig into treats from crewmate Christer Fugelsang, the first Swede to fly in space: ginger cookies and moose pâté. More here.
All the more reason for me to sign up if we are not going to be restricted to food supplements and tasteless garbage.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if you could find some minutes, Lady Ellee, you could devise a little menu for them. It might buy you a ticket for the flight.
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