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[paultranbakerman]

I’m so proud of you! Keep it up!

SOOOOOOOOO if you didn’t know it already, I kinda-sorta got this @foodnetwork 2 episode TV pilot/show “thing” called #BigBargainEats 🤗 that I’m very proud of and appreciative to have worked on (that @giadadelaurentiis Exec Produced😱😱😱), would love to be Hollywood-like “greenlit” into a FULL SERIES (of sharing amazingly delicious deals, making amazing new friends and just seeing more of America sharing the love for all the great stories out there🇺🇸) AND… would love y’alls support for the encore by watching BOTH episodes this Sunday (3p ET / 2p CT), telling ppl about it (if you watched it before, or if you just wanna support🙏🙇‍♂️), sharing info about it and just give it a fighting chance so the big wigs (of which they are MOST curious to see how many ppl stay watching starting from the first episode to THRU the second🙏🙏🙏) might be like, “🤔 Hey, MAYBE there should be more of this show with this goofball.👍” And I KNOW it’s playing on Mother’s Day, but if you’re chillin’ around a tv after your brunch-liciousness or similarly maternal loving activities… check it out! (Oh, and for those that wonder why I don’t bombard ya [like I used to] with the social media[s], the next pic should explain it all. Look at Cillían, he’s SO cuuuuuuuute and I will say, super hilarious and tons o’ fun. No time for constant social media when I’m hangin’ with THIS kid.🙋‍♂️👉👦) #adventuresinstarrykitchen #cillíanthecute (at Banana Suit Enterprises)

[paultranbakerman]

The cran-apple dessert they eat for Thanksgiving is basically a pineapple, cranberry, and apple cobbler (according to The Astronaut’s Cookbook by Bourland and Vogt, 2009). I need to try it!

Let’s Talk About Food...in Space!

It’s Thanksgiving time…which means you’re probably thinking about food…

Ever wonder what the astronauts living and working on the International Space Station eat during their time 250 miles above the Earth? There’s no microwave, but they get by using other methods.

Here are some fun facts about astronaut food…

Astronauts are assigned their own set of silverware to use during their mission (they can keep it afterward too). Without a dishwasher in orbit, they use special wipes to sterilize their set between uses, but it’s still better for everyone if they keep track of and use their own! So many sets of silverware were ordered during the space shuttle program that crews on the space station today still use silverware engraved with the word “shuttle” on them! So #retro.

You probably know that astronauts use tortillas instead of bread to avoid crumbs floating everywhere. Rodolfo Neri Vela, a payload specialist from Mexico, who flew on the space shuttle in 1985, introduced tortillas to the space food system. Back then, we would buy fresh tortillas the day before launch to send on the 8-10 day space shuttle missions.

We then learned how to reduce the water activity when formulating tortillas, which coupled with the reduction of oxygen during packaging would prevent the growth of mold and enable them to last for longer shuttle missions. Now, we get tortillas from the military. In August 2017, acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot ate a meal that included tortillas from 2015!

Our food menu is mostly all made from scratch so it can meet the requirements of the nutrition team and ensure astronauts eat enough fruits and vegetables. The space station is stocked with a standard menu that includes a mix of the more than 200 food and drink options available. This ensures lots of variety for the station crews but not too many of each individual item.

The food is packaged into bulk overwrap bags, referred to as BOBs, which are packed into cargo transfer bags for delivery to the space station. Each astronaut also gets to bring nine personalized BOBs for a mission, each containing up to 60 food and drink options so they can include more of their favorites – or choose to send a few specific items for everyone to share on a particular holiday like Thanksgiving. As a result, the crew members often share and swap their food to get more variety. Astronauts also can include any food available at the grocery store as long as it has an 18-month shelf life at room temperature and meets the microbiological requirements.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are a special treat for astronauts, so nearly every cargo resupply mission includes fresh fruit and veggies – and sometimes ice cream!

The Dragon spacecraft has freezers to bring science samples back to Earth. If there is space available on its way to orbit, the ground crew may fill the freezer with small cups of ice cream or ice cream bars.

Some food arrives freeze-dried, and the astronauts rehydrate it by inserting a specific amount of hot or ambient water from a special machine.

Other food comes ready to eat but needs to be reheated, which crew members do on a hot-plate like device. We recently also sent an oven style food warmer to station for the crew to use. And of course, some food like peanuts just get packaged for delivery and are ready to eat as soon as the package is opened!

Our nutritional biochemists have discovered that astronauts who eat more fish in space lost less bone, which is one of the essential problems for astronauts to overcome during extended stays in space. In the limited area aboard the space shuttle, not all crew members loved it when their coworkers ate the (aromatic) fish dishes, but now that the space station is about the size of a six-bedroom house, that’s not really a problem.

Astronauts on station have had the opportunity to grow (and eat!) a modest amount of fresh vegetables since the first lettuce harvest in August 2015, with new crops growing now and more coming soon. Crew members have been experimenting using the Veggie growth chamber, and soon plant research will also occur in the new Advanced Plant Habitat, which is nearly self-sufficient and able to control every aspect of the plant environment! 

Growing food in space will be an important component of future deep space missions, and our nutritionists are working with these experiments to ensure they also are nutritious and safe for the crew to eat.

Thanksgiving in Space

The crew on the space station will enjoy Thanksgiving together. Here’s a look at their holiday menu: 

Turkey

Mashed Potatoes

Cornbread Stuffing

Candied Yams

Cran-Apple Dessert

Learn more about growing food on the space station HERE. 

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

[paultranbakerman]

Well done! Congratulations!

My sister got married and I made the world’s smallest wedding cake

[paultranbakerman]

Good news! If the world ends, you can still have cookies!!

[paultranbakerman]

You can’t just eat good food. You’ve got to talk about it too. And you’ve got to talk about it to somebody who understands that kind of food.

Kurt Vonnegut (via culinary-institute-of-america)

I'm lucky to have some great friends who will have great conversations about food with me.

[paultranbakerman]

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Simply. Magical. 😍🎶 Presenting…the official video for Stronger Than You by the stunningly talented Estelle! Thank you to everyone who came out for the sing-along! 

[paultranbakerman]

Hot Pie from HBO’s Game of Thrones says that brown butter is the secret to his pie. I try it out! Spoiler: meh...but yes to pot pies and yes to brown butter!

[paultranbakerman]

Chocolate Protein Lava Cakes Recipe! Watch here: https://youtu.be/-2sbfY4pj-Y

[paultranbakerman]

LEVANT STICKY SPONGE CAKE (NAMMURAH) - Paul Tran Baker Man

This cake smells beautiful and I want to adapt the syrup for other bakes! This recipe was modified from Anissa Helou's book, "Levant", which you can find on her website at http://www.anissas.com/

[paultranbakerman]

America hurrah!

[paultranbakerman]

It's my first YouTube collab! For this video, I team up with a fun vlogger! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe0eZA7qsJq9GobjPu37KJA

[paultranbakerman]

I do pronounce it as “pick-AHN” and I am from one of those blue areas. Here is my pecan pie recipe! https://youtu.be/VBor4gVI99c

How Do You Say Pecan?

PEE-kahn pie vs. pi-KAHN pie vs. PEE-can pie.

[paultranbakerman]

I had no idea that the ankylosaur (my favorite dino) had a less-violent (aka no tail mace) cousin!

I think we should all take a moment to appreciate this gloriously well-preserved nodosaur that turned up in Alberta.

I mean, look at this thing!

This has got to be one of the most well-preserved dinosaurs I have ever laid eyes on.

Even the keratin sheaths around its osteoderm spikes were preserved, so it can be used to reliably reconstruct how ankylosaurids would have looked at in life!

And the best part is it was discovered completely by accident in a mining operation! Can you imagine being one of the miners who stumbled across this beautiful, beautiful thing?

National Geographic link

[paultranbakerman]

Ube cake roll inspired by Steven Universe! Thank you, @cartoonnetwork @rebeccasugar! Also, @DeedeeMagnoHall Shelby Rebara, and Jennifer Paz get a shout out!

[paultranbakerman]

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SURPRISE CAT! Entire video here: https://youtu.be/7cYau95Fe4g Paul Tran Baker Man vlogs about the March for Science and answers some questions.

[paultranbakerman]

PROTECT SCIENCE #marchforscience (at Washington Monument National Monument)

[paultranbakerman]

MATCHA MILK BREAD TURTLES WITH CHOCOLATE DUTCH CRUNCH