For the younger science fiction fan in your life – or any kiddo who loves astronauts, space ships, and astronomy – you may want to give them A Is for Astronaut: Exploring Space from A to Z this holiday season. It’s perfect for children learning their letters.

A Is for Astronaut: Exploring Space from A to Z is a mix of vintage illustrations and contemporary photos. It also contains basic information about everything from the planets, to animals in space, to the food astronauts eat.

I don’t think astronauts eat any of the food from The Star Wars Cookbook II -Darth Malt and More Galactic Recipes, but it would make a terrific present for the young or old Jedi in your family. This can be your guide book to fun food for a Star Wars themed party (maybe a family friendly New Year’s Eve Party?), too. Plus you could try to combine cooking with reading some of the Star Wars books or watching the movies. Anyone thinking winter break reading project here?

I love the photography in the The Star Wars Cookbook – pictures of Star Wars action figures and the food, including a Jedi stabbing a cookie and young Obi-Wan falling into a "Darth Malt." Really funny, clever stuff. The recipe titles are good too – Padme Pad Thai, Amidala Challah, and a Forceful Frittata.

Here’s a sample recipe – it’s supposed to look like Darth Maul’s double light saber.

Darth Double Dogs
Once you get a grip on these, you’ll never go back to the single dog again.

Ingredients:

1. 8 foot-long hotdogs
2. 1 package refrigerator crescent dinner rolls
3. 4 long wooden skewers

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Take a wooden skewer and skewer it halfway into one of the hot dogs, then take another hot dog and skewer it onto the other end. You will have one long hot dog held together with a skewer. Repeat with the remaining hot dogs.
3. Open the dinner roll package and unroll. The rolls will be perforated into triangular shapes. Detach them two at a time so you have four rectangles of dough.
4. Place one double hot dog on teh edge of the rectangle, centering it. Roll the dough around the hot dog. When you get to the other side of the rectangle, genly press the hot dog down to seal the double edge. Repeat with the other double hot dogs.
5. Place hot dogs on a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until dough is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
6. Serve with ketchup and mustard. Be careful when eating these sthey are llike a corn dog with a stick in the center.

Picture courtesy of Wikipedia, which gives a long discourse on light sabers, their origins, and how they work.

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