Dining from the Ship’s Kitchen for One Week
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| The ship’s kitchen. |
From August 17-25, our meals came from the excellent kitchen of the Lindblad-National Geographic Endeavor II as we were touring the Galapagos Islands. Beginning with a wonderful and varied breakfast buffet, we enjoyed each day’s food. Except for one barbecue buffet (originally planned to be on the deck, but the wind was too high) we sat down and had excellent table service for lunches and dinners. Despite the sometimes-frantic pace of multiple excursions to shore, the meals were always very relaxed, and we were happy with the companionship of other passengers onboard.
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| The kitchen viewed through a window (with reflections). |
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Every morning I ate the fruit from the breakfast buffet — especially the papaya.
Several counters were loaded with amazing choices of cereals, eggs, Ecuadorian pastry, and much more. |
Desserts from the kitchen
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| As we entered the dining room we would see the beautifully plated desserts waiting to be served at the end of our meal. |
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| Flan and chocolate lava cakes. MMMM! Dessert buffet after the barbecue meal. |
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Chocolate mousse cup served with an edible spoon made from white chocolate.
Ecuadorian chocolate is the best in the world, and the taste is unbelievable. |
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| Tropical flavors: coconut, lemon, pineapple. |
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Len’s birthday cake — another beautiful creation from the ship’s kitchen.
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And more…
Somehow by the time I received my main course I was always so engaged in conversation with my fellow diners that I never took photos of the plates, but believe me, there was always a wonderful local fish option and a meat or chicken option with many different vegetable and starchy side dishes. Potatoes, which are native to Ecuador and the Andes mountains were often on the menu. Yucca or casava was also used, as was a wide variety of sweet corn. Interesting fact: popcorn is used as a garnish for ceviche.
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| We had a beautiful week on the Endeavor II. |
In My Kitchen At Home in Ann Arbor
Now for my normal report on what’s happening in my kitchen — shared with the other bloggers at
Sherry’s blog. And with the bloggers at Deb’s
Sunday Salon.
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| Magnets from Ecuador on my refrigerator. |
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| New napkin holder from the Quito Artisan Market. |
Using Michigan’s great local produce in August…
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| Figs aren’t local but they are in season in August. |
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| Plus one barbecue in our back yard: served with the lingonberry jam we bought at Ikea. |
Since we came back:
Blog post and photos © 2024 mae sander
24 comments:
Hello,
The meals and desserts on the ship looks and sounds wonderful!
I also would enjoy the meals you had at home too, I love a good salad. The magnets and napkin holder are pretty. Take care, enjoy your weekend!
I'm amazed at the food you ate while on the ship. It reminds me of the food I ate on AirFrance. Very unexpected. I would like to try the chocolate from Ecuador---the edible spoon is especially appealing.
The fresh corn, blueberry buckle, the tomatoes---Of course you also ate well after you returned home. Somehow you always manage to be around good food, Mae.
They certainly feed you well on that ship! The food looks excellent and is served like small bits of art. Lovely. Your own kitchen is looking pretty good, too!
It looks like August was a delicious month!! So much beautiful food. I love the photos from your trip. And lamb kabobs are one of my favorites.
The food (and kitchens) on the ship ...Oh my goodness! Loving all that fruit too...
Oh, my, what a food extravaganza! The colors alone, of even such a “simple” vegetable (fruit?) as a tomato, are gorgeous! So glad you had this experience, and could give us a vicarious vacation.
Is that Jeff Goldblum??? I loved him in the series Search Party.
ALL the food looks good. On this ship and in your kitchen.
Love the magnets and the napkin holder.
That white choc spoon is so cute, and delicious i bet. What a fab trip you must have had, Mae. Thanks for joining in !
cheers
sherry
These are the cutest magnets ever!
I hope this publishes. Whether on the ship, or in your own home, you certainly eat very well. I would have gone for the fruit, too. I have cereal in my OWN cupboard (grin). LOVE those new magnets.
The food on the cruise looked great. Interestingly I know someone who went on a cruise around Antarctica and they also commented on the lack of spice in the food - maybe it's a cruise thing? You certainly made up for lost time in the kitchen - love your colourful tomatoes and the blueberry buckle looks delish. Now I'm off to google what a buckle actually is :) Hope you have a tasty September!
The cruise sounds wonderful with mouthwatering food and desserts. And your kitchen looks great, too! Hugs, Valerie
You're making me hungry with this post Mae. You had a great month I think. Loving your new magnets too. Did you get to see any toucans on your trip? Happy September. hugs-Erika
First the Michigan produce is beautiful! That tomato plate especially. Really enjoyed the cruise food report, while it is a different line, we have a family cruise scheduled for December.
To answer a couple of posts:
About the food in our own kitchen: that was from before our trip, not since we returned. Not much energy for cooking since we got back!
About the toucan: we did see a toucanet and another close relative on our birding expedition near Quito two weeks ago, but not actual toucans. We’ve seen them on other trips.
About the ship’s food: it was well-spiced, just not HOT HOT!
And yes, it’s Jeff Goldblum in the new Netflix series which was released last Thursday.
best to all and thanks for the comments…. mae
What a magical trip that must have been Mae, Thank you so much for sharing with us. I hope you enjoy your home and a beautiful season. Aloha!
I think I gained weight just looking at all the fabulous food on the ship. Your blueberry Buckle Cake looks really good with all those blueberries !
This is what I love most about vacations! Someone else cooking.
Wow, the food looks delicious! I love fresh tomatoes and figs! Looks like you had quite the bounty!
The food on the ship looks almost too beautiful to eat! Len must have had a very memorable birthday. The food in your kitchen looks just as wonderful - nothing like fresh tomatoes!
oh one day I will go on one of those fancy ships with all the cool buffets! one day I mean when my son has left home, so what's that, another 17.5 years to go? :) do you think the Galapagos will still be around then? I hope so! have a great month
dreams of sourdough at http://ayearindarwin.blogspot.com
Actually the ship had a special program for kids, with around 10 or so who were participating from around age 7 to 16. They all seemed to bond with each other and to be having fun and learning some natural history. Obviously this might or might not be for you, but age isn’t really a barrier to taking kids on this voyage. As for the durability of the Galapagos? It’s probably no worse than any place else on this possibly doomed planet!
What an amazing birthday to spend visiting the Galapagos Islands. And your tomatoes from home look amazing :)
What a wealth of beautiful produce and meals, Mae. The Galapagos are on our bucket list. Happy belated birthday.
https://spadesspatulasandspoons.com/ Liz
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