NASA astronaut Mike Massimino Ph.D., recently went into Earth’s orbit on the Space Shuttle Atlantis on a mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope and sent tweets to his Twitter followers from space whilst orbiting our favorite planet via NASA ground control during Atlantis mission STS-125.

Here’s a selection of some of Mike’s tweets from orbit and some pictures of the mission.
5:48 PM May 16th From orbit: This is an awesome experience, the privilege to fly in space and work on the Hubble is beyond my dreams.

8:43 AM May 18th From orbit: At the end of my spacewalk, I had time to just look at the Earth, the most awesome sight my eyes have seen, undescribable.

11:36 AM May 18th From orbit: Hard to sleep last night after my spacewalk, images of the work and the views still vivid in my mind.

4:26 AM May 19th From orbit: Eating chocolates in space, floating then in front of me then floating and eating them like I am a fish.

4:27 AM May 19th From orbit: Getting ready for bed, sleeping in space is cool, tie down your sleeping bag and float inside of it, very relaxing.

6:06 PM May 19th From orbit: We see 16 sunrises and sunsets in 24 hrs, each one spectacular as the sun lights up the atmosphere in a spectrum of colors.

5:35 PM May 20th From orbit: Just saw Orion’s nebula in the night sky – the sights make all the hard work and risk worthwhile for me.

9:49 AM May 21st From orbit: got a call from President Obama, it was a great event for our crew and very thoughtful of the President.

And just for fun, I found this movie-style poster featuring the crew from the STS-125 mission on the Atlantis. The last people that will ever service the Hubble Space Telescope.

And of course you can get our updates fresh off the presses by following @kaizengroup on twitter.

It is so exciting to announce the relaunch of our continuously improving website!

The site has been updated with so many new features and updates that its hard to know where to begin.

First of all the design itself is simple and intuitive to navigate. Secondly our portfolio has never looked better. Our @kaizengroup Twitter plug-in is another feature we’d like to highlight so you can stay updated on what’s cooking in the Kaizen kitchen.

Click here to visit the new www.KaizenWebDesign.com.

Gordon Ramsay classic lasagne al forno recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
½ large onion, peeled
1 large carrot, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 pinches dried oregano
300g minced beef
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
30ml (2 tbsp) red wine
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
50ml milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce
25g butter
25g flour
300ml milk
Pinch of ground nutmeg
60g Cheddar cheese, grated

30g Parmesan cheese, grated
6 sheets of ‘non-cook’ lasagne sheets

For the salad
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 x round lettuce head, rinsed and dried

Directions
How to make Gordon Ramsay’s classic lasagne al forno

1. Pre-heat the oven to 225°C.

2. Heat the olive oil in a hot pan. Grate the onion and carrot and crush the garlic before frying together. Season with the bay leaf, a pinch of oregano, Worcestershire sauce and a little salt and pepper. Allow the onion to soften before making a well in the centre of the pan. Place the mince in the middle of the pan and stir to break it up. Add the tomato puree and allow to cook out for 30 seconds. Continue until all the meat has browned nicely. Add the wine and cook off the alcohol before adding the tomatoes. Leave to simmer for a further 2-3 minutes. Finally add the milk, turn off the heat and set aside.

3. To make the cheese sauce, first melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and using a wooden spoon, stir to form a paste. Over a gentle heat add a third of the milk, whisking to prevent any lumps forming. Add the rest of the milk a third at a time, whisking as you go. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of ground nutmeg. Allow the sauce to cook out for another minute before adding the Cheddar cheese. Stir and remove from the heat.

4. Spoon half of the meat sauce into the bottom of the baking dish and place pasta sheets on top (break the sheets if necessary to avoid any overlapping). Next, pour in just under half of the cheese sauce, and spread evenly using a spatula before spooning the remaining meat on top. Add the final layer of pasta and use the spatula to pour over the remaining cheese sauce.

5. Finish with the grated Parmesan and sprinkle with another pinch of oregano. Add a light seasoning of salt and pepper before cleaning the edges of the dish and placing in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

6. In the bottom of your salad bowl use a fork to whisk together the mustard, vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Carefully open the head of lettuce, season inside with salt and pepper. Upend the lettuce headfirst into the salad bowl. Holding the root, wipe the leaves around the bowl to coat in the vinaigrette. Twist the root and pull it out. Turn the dressed head of lettuce onto a large plate and gently open out.

7. Portion out the lasagne and serve alongside the salad.

Serves 4

This quick and delicious recipe can also be used for chicken and pork, as well as beef. Everything being prepared in one pan makes this dish even better, as the cleanup is a cinch.

Ingredients

2 lbs (1 kg) flank steak
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp (10 mL) olive oil
1/2 cup (125 mL) balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp (25 mL) honey

Marinade
1 tbsp (15 mL) garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp (5 mL) fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1/4 tsp (1 mL) freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil

Directions

1. If steak is too large to be manageable slice in half crosswise across the grain.

2. Place steak in a large freezer bag with garlic, rosemary, pepper, lemon juice and oil. Let marinate at least 2 hours. Prepare White Bean Purée while marinating (recipe follows).

3. Remove beef from bag and pat dry with paper towel.

4. Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper.

5. In a large sauté pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add steak and cook until well browned on one side, reduce heat if pan begins to burn.

6. Turn steak over and brown the other side; for medium-rare cook for 12 to 17 minutes depending on thickness of steak. Flank steak is at its best when not cooked past medium-rare; it should still be pink in the middle.

7. Remove steak from the pan and set aside to rest, covered with tin foil.

8. With a paper towel wipe the ban clean of any burnt bits of garlic or rosemary. To the pan add balsamic vinegar and honey. Cook over medium heat until reduced to a sauce consistency.

9. Pour the juices from the rested steak into the balsamic sauce. Slice the steak into 1/2-inch (1 cm) slices across the grain of the meat.

10. Serve on top of White Bean Purée drizzled with sauce.

White Bean Purée

The creamy, earthy bean make a terrific bacdrop to the sweet and sour flavours of the beef.

Ingredients

2 tbsp (25 mL) olive oil
1/2 cup (125 mL) white onion, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp (15 mL) garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp (1 mL) chili flakes
2 tsp (10 mL) fresh sage or oregano, coarsely chopped
2 cans (540 mL each) cannellini or white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup (125 mL) beef stock
1/4 cup (50 mL) 35% cream (optional)
Salt to taste

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.

2. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes.

3. Add garlic and chili flakes, cook for 30 seconds.

4. Add sage, beans and beef stock, bring to the biol and then reduce to simmer.

5. Simmer for 20 minutes with lid on, then 10 minutes without lid.

Cooking the bean purée (before blending)

6. Add cream if using and stir to combine.

7. Let cool slightly and purée with a hand blender or food processor. Season to taste.

8. Warm through before serving.

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You’re pulling my plonker now, aren’t you?
You’ve never cooked a mussel?

Chef Gordon Ramsay tells off a supposed chef because he has never cooked a mussel before in his life.

Chef Ramsay well known for his use of colourful language and creativity shows us that there are creative ways to use the word plonker.

Hilarity ensues.

If you enjoyed watching chef Ramsay call that poor inexperienced chef a plonker you might be interested in personally experiencing what it would be like for Gordon Ramsay to cuss at you at http://gordonramsayswearsatyou.com/.

Scoopler is the latest search engine on the web, and what makes it different than all the other search engines is that it allows users to view search results in real time as the information becomes available from sources all over the web including Twitter, Digg, Flickr, Delicious, etc.

Scoopler real time search engine

Read more about it at TechCrunch

Try it out for yourself at http://www.scoopler.com

Serves 4

Fruity sweet pineapple contrasts the heat and spice of the Indian curry paste to make a quick sauté of scallops for dinner. This will surely become a new family favourite that is fast and easy to prepare.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup (250 mL) basmati rice
Salt
1 lb (500 g) sea scallops, patted dry
Pepper
2 tbsp (25 mL) butter
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup (75 mL) finely chopped red onion
1 tbsp (15 mL) mild curry paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ( 250 mL) pineapple juice
1 tsp (5 mL) cornstarch
1 tsp (5 mL) water
1 cup (250 mL) chopped fresh pineapple

Directions

1. Bring stock, rice and pinch of salt to boil in saucepan. Reduce heat and cover and cook for 10 minutes or until rice is tender and no liquid remains.

2. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Heat butter in skillet over medium-high heat and sear scallops on both sides. Remove to plate.

3. Return skillet to medium-high heat and sauté red pepper and onion for 3 minutes or until tender. Add curry paste and garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add pineapple juice and bring to biol. Whisk together cornstarch and water and stir into skillet.

4. Return scallops to skillet along with pineapple and stir to coat. Cook for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over rice.

Serves 4

Here ground hazelnuts are used instead of crumbs and the nutty flavour matches well with the cream sauce. Serve these chops with lightly satéed spinach or watercress and some roasted potatoes.

Ingredients

4 bone-in pork chops, 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp (25 mL) flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cup (250 mL) lightly toasted ground hazelnuts
1 tbsp (15 mL) unsalted butter
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
1/2 cup (125 mL) homemade or low-salt chicken stock
3/4 cup (175 mL) whipping cream

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºF (100ºC).

2. Season chops lightly with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess. Dip the chops in the beaten egg. Coat with the ground hazelnuts.

3. Put the butter and oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the pork chops and cook 4 to 5 minutes per side or until just cooked through. Transfer the chops to a serving platter, cover with foil and place in the oven. Turn the oven off.

4. Pour the stock into the pan and deglaze by scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Increase the heat to high and add the cream. Boil until the sauce is reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes, and then check the seasoning.

5. Spoon sauce over chops and serve.

Taken from TheStar.com