The Martian; The Round-up #FoodnFlix

 I just love our Food n Flix Group.  It so often gets me out of my movie rut and introduces me to films I would otherwise never watch.  This month, however, is different because I am hosting.  I chose a movie that I just loved when it came out at the show and I couldn't wait to watch it again.

The film?  The Martian starring Matt Damon.  You can see my Announcement Post here and while it is too late to join us this month you can always join in next month when we watch A Touch of Spice hosted by Cam of Cooking Adventures with Camilla.  

You can also join us anytime by posting any recipe that is inspired by any of the X-Men Movies. This invitation comes to you from Heather, our host with a most, over at Food n Flix.  You can read all about the X-Men event here.

But back to this month's recipe round-up.  I expected tons of potato recipes because, after all, the movie was all about those potatoes.  

Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla was the first to post with her Carne de Porco a Alentejana. Cam was very excited with my movie choice.  It seems that she and her family have read the novel and watched the film several times.  Cam also linked back to a cute little story about when she made Martian Potatoes.

Cam decided to look for inspiration other than potatoes and created this dish saying "And in the end, I was inspired by the red rocks and red sand of the Acidalia Planitia. That brought me to paprika. Lots and lots of paprika".

The next submission was by a new member of our group, Tina of Novel Meals.  Welcome to FnF Tina, we are so happy that you joined us and I LOVE that blog name!  Tina, like Cam, had previously read the novel and enjoyed it immensely.  I have decided to add this novel to my TBR even though I have already seen the movie.  

Tina, also found inspiration outside of the obvious and is sharing this wonderful recipe for Eggplant Parmesan with us today.  Tina noted that ketchup played an important role in the meals eaten by Watney and said "On those lines I wanted to make something with a tomato base but not a spaghetti dish."

Next up is Ali of Fix Me a Little Lunch.  Evidently, I am the only person in the world that has not read this book! Ali was worried because she is a pretty harsh critic of movies after she has read the book but was happy to report that, in this case, she loved the movie as well.

Ali was the first of our group to have potatoes as the main ingredient and shared this wonderful recipe for Freezer Egg, Potato and Bacon Burritos.  Ali said she realized Watney would probably never want to see a potato again in his life.... "Still, I wanted to do a shout out recipe to the humble spud". I would love to have a stash of these in my freezer.

I'm happy to report that Kimberly of Coffee and Casseroles is joining us once again, having taken a break from FoodnFlix for the last few months.

Kimberly cleverly noted that, while we were all concentrating on Mark Watney and the food he had and grew, back on Earth there was tons of food, even showing shots of food advertisements. "All to contrast with the bleakness on Mars".  Great observation by Kimberly paired with a very creative recipe for Granola Dunes combining several scenes in the movie that inspired this fun dish.

Courtney from Fictional Fare is married to a real life Rocket Scientist.  Courtney did not read the book but her husband did and talked about it for weeks so Courtney feels as if she has read it. They went together to the theater to see this movie. 

Courtney decided to make two recipes inspired by this movie.  The first Parmesan Potatoes...."I remembered a part in the movie where he runs out of ketchup and dips his potatoes in crushed Vicodin. Yes, as in the narcotic. While using actual Vicodin in this recipe would be both disgusting and illegal, I thought that powdered parmesan cheese looked a bit like crushed up Vicodin powder, so I went with that."  Courtney is also sharing a tomato soup recipe that she named ketchup soup as a nod to the ketchup that Watney used with his potatoes until he ran out.  

Our fearless leader and the brain-child behind this fun group, Heather of All Roads Lead to the Kitchen, is up next.  Heather is so very creative.  She never fails to astound me with her inspiration and ideas.

"At one point, we see Watney slicing potatoes and putting them into a toaster oven to cook. I used that as the inspiration behind this ridiculously simple potato preparation. But here's the thing—I don't have a toaster oven. So, along the same lines, I thought it would be fun to develop a way to cook potatoes in my toaster. Okay, develop is probably a strong word, but you get the gist."  See what I mean?  Heather is amazing and so are these Toaster Potatoes and Homemade Ketchup.

My friend, Evelyne of CulturEatz never fails to amaze me with her creativity and this month is no exception.

It was Evelyne's second time watching the film and she knew that no matter what she did not want to make potatoes. She thought long and hard and even researched real NASA food sites and then? "I finally hit the jackpot when I found this Galaxy Ice Cream Idea but changed my colors to imitate the planet Mars! And for good measure I of course threw in a chopped Mars bar!"  I am so very impressed by the creativity of this recipe.

Deb of Kahakai Kitchen is sharing a recipe for Muesli in Space or at Home.  Deb got her inspiration from a list of available foods that Waltney was categorizing so that he knew what he had and how long it would last him.

Deb provides us with an amazing recipe for homemade Muesli saying "I decided that the start to any long day whether in space or at home is a hearty breakfast so I decided to make muesli as my dish". I, for one, am very glad she did.  I have never had muesli and am anxious to try it.

Debra of Eliot's Eats paid homage to the humble potatoes that kept Watney alive with a potato soup. She used two different kinds of potatoes, including sweet potatoes to "mimic the red planet's color".

Isn't this Two Potato Soup with Sriracha Swirl lovely?  Debra explained the swirl saying

"Plus, there’s the scene where he finally gets into the disco beat to “Hot Stuff” (à la Donna Sommers). With the white pepper and Sriracha, this is some hot stuff, too."

I was really surprised and pleased when my friend Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures was able to join us this month.  Amy recently started working full time and also volunteered to make and frost 138 cupcakes and a huge amount of pressed cookies for Confirmation this month.

How amazing is Amy?  Well....take a look at these adorable Meatloaf Cupcakes with Potato Frosting. Perfect for April Fool's Day tomorrow and perfect for this movie as well.  Amy says: "Since potatoes play such a huge role, I knew I wanted to make a potato dish. Later, when Mark is working on rationing his supplies, he cuts into something that looks meatloaf-esque (it’s gray and blocky and unpleasant looking), so I knew I totally wanted to use my meatloaf cupcakes!"

Terri of Our Good Life also read this book prior to seeing the movie.  In fact, her entire book club went together to see it and all agreed that it was very true to the novel.  Terri labels this as one of her top movies ever.

Terri decided to share a recipe for Sweet Potato Fries saying " My inspiration was to find a way to use all the potato, including the skin. The skin has some of the best nutrients, so we want to be sure to use it. If I consider what he had left to use: grape juice, ketchup, olive oil, instant coffee and salt and pepper, I would be too limited, so I did take advantage of the ingredients I have around me to make this dish."

Shaheen of Allotment 2 Kitchen almost got missed this month.  For some reason her email to me went straight into my spam box.  I am so glad I found it before this post.  I would have hated missing out on this great recipe.

While, Shaheen was not crazy about the film she was inspired to make this wonderful Creamy Carrot and Sweet Potato Rice Pudding.  "I took my inspiration from the myriad and bursting shades of orange, rust, bronze, marigold, clay, sandstone found in the landscape of the planet, from the rockery to the grainy dry sand."

The always fun to read and witty writer, Colleen of Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice joined the party with these wonderful Twice Cooked Potatoes with Spicy Ketchup.

Colleen nearly didn't join us this month, thinking she was going to hate this movie.  She was very surprised that she loved this movie and ended up highly recommending it to others.  Colleen wanted to showcase potatoes but decided to focus on the cooking method because "If I had to eat potatoes for several years straight, I sure as hell know that I wouldn't want to eat them the same way every single day".

Sarah of Chef Sarah Elizabeth, got in right under the wire with her recipe.  Sarah hadn't wanted to watch the movie until she had finished reading the book but took the leap as deadline approached. She thought the movie was great.

Sarah presents The Bitter Astronaut, made with Campari for the bitterness she would have felt having been left behind as Watney was and Vodka which is made from potatoes.  The cocktail is red to represent Mars and garnished with some salted potatoes, reminiscent of those vicodin potatoes enjoyed by Watney in lieu of alcohol.  Sarah says, "I settled on a cocktail because if I had been stranded on Mars, I would have majorly needed a cocktail."  I'm with you, Sarah, I would have needed a cocktail as well.

And me?  Well I chose to share a healthy version of Sweet and Sour chicken based on one of the packages that Watney was sorting through while cataloging his supplies.

I had been trying to follow the Fast Metabolism Diet and while this dish isn't completely FMD friendly it is pretty close.  More importantly it is amazingly delicious.