Archive for category Food & Drink
Modern Eclipse
Posted by Danielle in Food & Drink on April 2, 2010
Saw this striking wine bottle packaging by Rhinocerosred Design over at Curved White. Beautiful work!
Saturn Latte
Posted by Danielle in Food & Drink on March 24, 2010

I first saw this marvelous bit of latte art here, and failing to find a larger version on Flickr, traced it here and eventually to Reddit. (Where it’s still only 400×300.) It really bugs me when I can’t find the original version and can’t be sure of the “source” being the actual original, but PhotoBucket seems to be as close as it gets, so there you go.
I want a latte just like this. It would MAKE my DAY. Actually, it would make my MONTH.
Sapporo Space Barley Beer
Posted by Danielle in Food & Drink on December 9, 2009
It had to happen eventually, and it doesn’t surprise me that Japan is at the forefront of space beer. OnOrbit has an overview of the release — very pricey, very limited, and you have to be a Japanese resident to enter the lottery.
Sapporo Breweries Ltd. is launching sales of the world’s first beer produced using malt made 100% from “space barley,” the progenies of spaceflight barley seeds, This limited offer is exclusive to the Internet and proceeds will go to charity. Applications to purchase the beer, which is dubbed “SAPPORO Space Barley,” can be made from December 3 (Thu), 2009 on the dedicated web page set up on our company’s website. Two hundred and fifty successful customers will be selected from among the applicants by lottery.
The “space barley” used to make this beer is the fourth generation descendant of the Haruna Nijo malting barley that was developed by Sapporo Breweries and kept in space for five months during 2006 as part of our collaborative research with the Russian Academy of Sciences and Okayama University with the purpose of achieving self-sufficiency in food in the space environment. Since Sapporo Breweries was founded, we have continued to create excellent varieties for raw materials, and we are the only company in the world that operates breeding/research organizations for both barley and hops. This, the world’s first sale of this “space beer,” is the result of our extended nurturing/development of the required technologies.
At roughly $100 for six bottles of space beer, this is not a purchase for the fainthearted, but I like the sentiment:
It is our hope that our customers will feel able to sit back, relax, and enjoy SAPPORO Space Barley, letting their minds drift through the infinities of space and into dreams of the future.
Moonstruck Chocolatier
Posted by Danielle in Food & Drink on October 20, 2009
Saw a display for Moonstruck Chocolatier in a Market of Choice supermarket over the weekend. Gorgeous logo, gorgeous packaging, and a crescent moon-shaped gift box? Yeah, I’m in love.
Space Wheels
Posted by Danielle in Food & Drink on October 9, 2009
My esteemed friend Etherbrian pointed these images out to me yesterday: Neato Coolville supplies the terrific ad, and grickily actually owns a box of Space Wheels, and is kind enough to show them off. (Thanks to both for allowing me to repost the images here!)
Tykes with Taste
Posted by Danielle in Children's Items, Food & Drink on September 28, 2009
For the kiddie of taste and refinement, Tiffany & Co. has you covered, with the sterling silver Rocket Ship bank and porcelain Cosmic three-piece baby set.
Kamenstein Rocket Kettle
Posted by Danielle in Food & Drink, Home & Office on September 22, 2009

As much as I feel guilty drawing your attention to something so hard to find, I can’t help but mention the Kamenstein Motion Rocket Kettle, a tea kettle that alerts you when the water’s boiling by spinning rockets, spewing forth steam. It was made in 1999, and is sadly, painfully out of production and worth 5 to 10 times the initial selling price of $70. (Try $300-700, if you can find one. Big IF.)

Where did I find this remarkable device, you ask? Alton Brown used one on his True Brew II episode of Good Eats, which I only saw two nights ago. AB, I love ya, but how dare you dangle a ROCKET tea kettle in front of my eyes, and then have it be discontinued?? I cry many tears.
Rocket, one of the models featured in Kamenstein’s Motion Kettles collection, is made of highly polished stainless steel and holds 2 1/2 quarts of water. Located at its top is a rotating ring powered by steam produced when water boils inside the pot. As the ring turns on its ball-bearing base, a pair of attached rockets circle the tea kettle. In addition to providing amusement, the kettle’s revolving rockets signal users that water is boiling.

L'Explorateur
Posted by Danielle in Food & Drink on September 21, 2009

You may recall that back in March I spoke of going to an artisan cheese festival and hoping to find rocket-themed cheese labels (it was a thin, vapor of a hope, I admit.) I was startled and delighted to find L’Explorateur cheese from France at the Market of Choice in Ashland this past Friday. (My birthday is today, and there’s no more appropriate special occasion, in my opinion, for my finding and eating a rocket cheese.)

Named after the first US satellite, Explorer I, L’Explorateur is made from raw cow’s milk. My piece came in a lovely perforated “cave”-y box, and I look forward to eating it tonight!
Named in honor of the first United States satellite, L’Explorateur is a soft-ripened triple-cream cheese with a tasty, mushroomy white rind and rich, buttery interior. Its delicate aroma and salty taste make it a true crowd-pleaser.
Moon Rocks Collection
Posted by Danielle in Food & Drink on July 1, 2009
Spotted this on collectSPACE — beautiful, delectible space-themed/named chocolates by Choclatique. Choclatique needs to get itself a findable press release/image resource section. The box of 15 lovely chocolates can be ordered at the aforementioned product page, where the pictures are far from sufficiently sized, but the descriptions are worth a peek!
Flavors include: Apollo Almond, Basalt Boysenberry, Cosmic Crunch Caramel, Galactic Grape, Extraterrestrial Mint, Lunar Lemon Caramel, Lift Off Lime, Mission Control Fig, Moon Rocks Mousse, Nasa Nuts, Pluto Pomegranate Caramel, Solar Sesame, Rocket Raspberry, Stellar Strawberry Shortcake and Tangy Orange. And believe me, based on the descriptions I am prepared to eat the entire box by myself.
It has been 40 years since the crew of Apollo 11 braved the new frontier of space. Commander Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. He, and the crew of the “Sea of Tranquility,” are truly American heroes.
In celebration of this monumental achievement in human history, Choclatique is proud to present our 40th Anniversary tribute to all of the “Moon Walkers” and those who made those historic steps possible, with our chocolate Moon Rocks Collection.
Never having been to the moon, we used our imaginations as to what a real moon rock might look like, including lots of facets, and the use of vibrant colors and even gold streaks to show striations and differing geological patterns. We hope we did them justice!
Beam Me Up
Posted by Danielle in Food & Drink on May 11, 2009

I found this thumbing through an old issue of Something Extra (a free magazine they give out at our local Raley’s grocery store) — and apparently it must not be in production any more, because sheesh, I can’t find it anywhere online, so this is the best picture I can scrap up. Funny illustration!












This blog celebrates space exploration, human spaceflight and the heavens, through
My name is Danielle Signor, and I am a space cadet.


