Space Station Oddity

January 21, 2016

“The truth is, of course, that there is no journey.  We are arriving and departing all at the same time.”
~ David Bowie

Scott Kelly/NASA – First Flower to Bloom in Space

 

It seems like we’ve lost too many creative artists already in 2016.  Alan Rickman, one of my favorite actors, and Glenn Frey, who helped to write “I Can’t Tell You Why”, one of my favorite songs by the Eagles, both passed beyond the veil recently.

But the loss that has touched me most deeply over the last week has been the death of legendary singer and actor David Bowie.  As someone who has always felt like a bit of a “Space Oddity” myself, David Bowie seemed like a kindred spirit.

My favorite Bowie tunes run the gamut from the experimental and ethereal “Aladdin Sane” to rock classics like “Ziggy Stardust”, “Moonage Daydream”, “Heroes” and “Panic in Detroit” (which contains one of the coolest bass lines of all time) to the downright funkiness of “Fame”, “Golden Years”, “Stay” and “Fascination”.

“Fame” was the first Bowie song I remember hearing on the radio.  I was hanging out in my backyard with the low rider girl who lived next door, listening to the local AM station.  When its rhythmic guitar riff began, she turned the sound up and we all started dancing.  A year later, Bowie appeared on Soul Train to perform “Fame” and another funk/soul inspired tune “Golden Years”.  I used to watch Soul Train every weekend and was as shocked as the dancers on the show seemed to be when this skinny white English guy took the stage to sing such a funky song.  Bowie was always an innovator.

His innovation and artistry are what drew me to him when I reached High School.  From my earliest memories as a child, I’ve always felt a bit outside the mainstream, more like an observer than a participant here on Earth.  Once the hormonal and emotional challenges of puberty began to set in, those feelings of “not fitting in” only magnified.  I was a dedicated art student at the time and Bowie’s album Scary Monsters, showcasing his New Romantic/Pierrot look, inspired me both artistically and personally.  Alone in my room, I would listen to the track “Ashes to Ashes” over and over again.  Too young to understand the lyrics fully (about the artist’s battle with addiction), I nonetheless related to the emotional beauty of its melody and poetry.  The song “Fashion”, another from Scary Monsters, served as background music for my appearance in a High School fashion show, wearing spiky-short hair and dressed in a purple metallic avant-garde jumpsuit (thankfully, smart phones and YouTube had not yet come into existence).

In the days after his death, I found myself watching clips from Labyrinth (1986), the Jim Henson fantasy in which Bowie played Jareth, the Goblin King.  At the time of the movie’s release, his spiky mullet-like hairdo and leggings seemed more than a little 80s geeky, but looking back on those scenes now, he was the coolest and best-looking Goblin King ever.  Bowie wrote and recorded the soundtrack to the movie, including “As the World Falls Down”, which has become one of my favorite love songs.

Music Videos are now automatic with a song’s release but this wasn’t always the case.  David Bowie was a true music video pioneer from his earliest days.  In 1969, he made a promotional short film for “Space Oddity”, a song recorded just five days before Apollo 11, the flight of the first moon landing, was launched.

44 years later, Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield, creating the first music video ever made in space, filmed a cover of “Space Oddity” aboard the International Space Station.  Here is a fascinating interview with Commander Hadfield on the awe-inspiring experience of singing “Space Oddity”, while sitting in his “tin can” in actual space:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PReeq-Q0ig8

It’s understandable why a modern astronaut would relate to Bowie’s classic song.  Who can think of traveling to outer space without recalling the lyrics, “This is Major Tom to Ground Control”?  It seems only fitting then, that the very first flower to be grown in space bloomed aboard the ISS just days after David Bowie’s passing (see photo at the top of this post), a golden-hued, edible zinnia with 13 petals.  Maybe it should be renamed Zinnia Stardust.

“Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.”
~ Khalil Gibran

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Eel River Ranch is a small family-run operation in Humboldt County California.  Eel River Ranch cows are grass-fed and grass-finished, freely roaming on on thousands of acres of certified organic pasture, always with plenty of open space, fresh air and clean water.  For more info and where to buy visit the Eel River Ranch website.  I used their delicious, healthy, Step 4 ground beef to make the meat sauce for Lasagna di Pane, the ultimate in comfort food.

Lasagna di Pane
Made with slices of bread instead of sheets of pasta, Lasagna di Pane is the comfiest of comfort foods.  I used a meat sauce in this recipe, but vegetarians can substitute eggplant, mushrooms or zucchini in place of beef or turkey.  Lasagna is one of the rare pastas that is even better the next day and can be frozen and reheated with excellent results.  Simply cut portions and wrap individually before freezing.  Reheat in the oven at 350°F for about 20 minutes or in a microwave for 3 to 5 minutes.

28 oz can of peeled tomatoes with basil
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb beef or turkey
A pinch of crumbled, dried rosemary
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 (16oz) loaf of French Bread or Italian Bread, thinly sliced
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
(or a blend of Parmesan and Romano cheeses)
8 oz package of grated organic mozzarella
1/2 cup organic free range chicken broth
Butter for greasing pan

Mince one of the garlic cloves.  In a large bowl, using a fork or potato masher, smash peeled tomatoes with the garlic until mostly smooth.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, brown the beef in 2 tablespoons of oil, stirring until browned and crumbly.  Mince the remaining clove of garlic and stir into the meat with the rosemary, fennel, parsley and a bit of salt and pepper.  Add the tomato sauce and the smashed tomatoes.  Stir to combine.  Bring just to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer 10-15 minutes (don’t reduce the volume of the sauce too much; a thinner sauce is better for this dish).  Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

Preheat oven to 350°F

Butter a 9″ x 13″ x 3″ lasagna pan.  Cover bottom of pan with a thin layer of the sauce.  Layer bread slices over the sauce (about half of the loaf) using torn pieces to fill in gaps.  Cover bread slices with about half of the remaining sauce and spread evenly.  Over this sprinkle half of the Parmesan and half the mozzarella.  Cover the cheeses with another layer of bread slices and pieces (this should use up most of the loaf).  Cover the bread with the remaining sauce and spread evenly.  Pour the chicken broth into the sides and corners of the pan, to moisten edges.  Sprinkle the remaining half of the Parmesan and Mozzarella over the surface evenly.

Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake 40 minutes.  Remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbly.  Remove lasagna from oven and let it rest 5 minutes before cutting into portions.

8 servings

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