The idea of slurping ramen in zero gravity makes me chuckle. I imagine strands of noodles floating around a space capsule while Strauss plays. Clearly that's not the image that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) had in mind when it approved 29 foods for use in space earlier this week.

JAXA's spaceworthy menu includes instant ramen noodles, curry, onigiri rice balls, powdered green tea and mackerel in miso sauce. All of the products had to meet the stringent standards of the International Space Station, which include packaging capable of withstanding drastic changes in air pressure and temperature. JAXA hopes that astronaut Koichi Wakata, who will be stationed at the ISS starting in fall of 2008 will get to enjoy the new Japanese space cuisine. Too bad sake and natto did not make the menu.

Technically, this is not a cookbook, but it does have recipes. Whether you actually want to attempt (or consume) them is an entirely different question. The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan: Classic Diet Recipe Cards from the 1970s is a book that features over 100 different, full-color, diet recipe cards. Each recipe card comes with hilarious commentary from author and complier Wendy McClure, who blogs at Pound and runs candyboots, where you can see some more recipe cards from the 1970s. This is the same sort of thing that you might see at the gallery of regrettable food, only better.

How much better can a book with a recipe for "Mackerelly" (I don't know what that is, nor do I care to) get?

It actually has a Flickr pool where you can see user submitted photos of some of the recipes, including the fluffy mackerel pudding. As a sample, you can see a picture of the Frankfurter Crown Roast after the jump.

[via Everything and Nothing]

 

Don't wolf down all that omega-3 filled bacon just yet. There is debate among scientists as to whether omega-3 fatty acids are actually good for your heart. For years, nutritionists, doctors and other members of the health and scientific communities have been urging patients to increase the number of supposedly "heart healthy" omega-3 fatty acids in their diet to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. A review of studies in the British Medical Journal showed no strong evidence that increasing the amount of omega-3s in the diet reduced deaths from cardiovascular disease. The finding has not, as yet, been completely confirmed, so doctors are not recommending that patients necessarily reduce their intake of fatty fishes, like mackerel and salmon, but patients should be aware that they may not be helping their heart in the way previously thought. Fish is still considered to be healthy, but it should be included in the diet in moderation, along with exercise and proper nutrition, for maximum health benefits.

We've been touring the sushi bar here at slashfood, and last I checked, I think we had just eaten some sake (that's salmon, not the drink, though we've dipped into that, too).

Saba is the Japanese term for mackerel; hikari-mono is the more general term that refers to all oily, shiny fish. In general, most people find that saba is "too fishy," but that's the characteristic that totally turns me on about it. Because it's so fishy, a lot of sushi chefs will use citrus juices, vinegars and other types of marinades to make it more palatable. I just like it straight up. (The above look like saba rolls, but they're really just saba on rice like nigiri with the addition of daikon sprouts and yuzu.)

If you're going to get all crazy and order saba, though, I recommend that you order it a little later in the meal, since the fishiness may linger on the palate, making it harder to taste any of the lighter fish.

Previous lessons at the School of Fish:
Hirame - white fish, sometimes halibut
Tai and Suzuki - snapper and seabass
Maguro - tuna
Toro - fatty belly of tuna
Shiro Maguro - "white" tuna, aka albacore
Ahi tuna
Hamachi - amberjack, aka yellowtail
Sake - salmon