Mr. Food Recipes: Week of Nov. 9

A Taste of Space / Part One of Five

We taped today's show on location at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It's a truly amazing place! I got to stand in the Rocket Garden, where there's a Mercury Atlas rocket and capsule just like the ones used for John Glenn's 1962 space flight.

There are also replicas of the Gemini and Apollo capsules there. Now, if you think your kitchen at home is cramped, it's amazing to see the tiny space allotted for the astronauts and their food! I'd bet that none of us would ever complain again about packing a lunch after seeing all it takes to pack the food for a hungry space crew!

Did you know that much of NASA's research affects our everyday lives? When it comes to growing and packaging food, the technology they have developed for shelf-stable food and hydroponically grown produce (like what our astronauts grow in space) made its way to our markets from NASA.

Solar-powered refrigeration created for the space program is in the near future for us here on Earth – and there are so many other things we use today that were created for the space program!

Tomorrow our space tour continues with…what else but an out-of-this-world dessert!

Brownie Lift-Off
9 to 12 brownies

3 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts or other nuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Beat in sugar and eggs.
3. Stir in flour, salt, and vanilla until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Pour batter into baking pan.
4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is dry and almost firm to the touch. Cool in pan then cut into squares or rocket shapes.

SERVING To use the space theme, serve rocket- or space shuttle-shaped brownies on a "cloud" of whipped cream or whipped topping.

A Taste of Space / Part Three of Five

Our salute to America's space program and its astronauts continues with a discussion about what it's like to eat in space. You know, it's much different than sitting down for a meal at home here on Earth.

Lieutenant Colonel Sam Gemar joined me to tell us more. He's an astronaut who's flown several Discovery and Columbia shuttle missions.

I asked Lt. Colonel Gemar what the experience of eating is like in outer space and he said, "As you've guessed, it is a lot different than it is here at home. One of the most important utensils we have for eating in space is scissors. That may seem a bit strange, but if you think about it, here on Earth our food is presented to us on plates and in glasses on a table, but in space it's presented to us in pouches. So we use scissors to cut the top of the pouches off, and then we'll use a spoon to eat out of the pouch. And as long as the food is a little bit tacky, it will stick to a spoon or, if you can stab it with a fork, that's a good food. Peas, for example, would not be a good space food – they'd be everywhere! And most of the pouches have Velcro that we use to attach them to the food trays. You know, playing with your food is hard to avoid in space. When we want to pass the peaches, or a spoon or scissors, to another crew member, we'll just float them across the mid-deck. And remember, Mom's not there to criticize us for playing with our food!"

It sounds like every meal is truly an out-of-this-world experience! I want to thank Lt. Colonel Gemar for sharing those experiences with us. And don't miss another taste tomorrow, right here at the Kennedy Space Center. It's a launch tradition that's chock-full of more... OOH IT'S SO GOOD!!