What we ate in Greece and Turkey

A Sea-Side Meal Near Athens

Very fresh fish.

We had Greek salads a number of times, and were impressed by the freshness of the vegetables.
Unlike the American-Greek restaurant version, they usually did not have any lettuce.

Winery Lunch Near the Port

On the way from Athens to the ship, we had lunch at a winery.
We were greeted with a glass of wine and some appetizers.

Buffet lunch.

We enjoyed the company of the group of people we had been traveling with,
and we continued be friends throughout the voyage.

We heard an interesting lecture while walking through the winery.

The vines surrounding the winery, which also obtains some grapes from other sources.

Restaurants in Turkey

Vegetables and salad at our outdoor meal in Turkey.

We had only a drink while walking around here, but I liked the look of this waterfront restaurant
and its cool mural of food and wine.

A Few of the Meals on the Orion

Breakfasts

Breakfast buffet. A special dish such as pancakes or French toast was available at another counter.

Flaky pastries were tiny and delicious.

 

Local jams at breakfast

Set up to make the breakfast special.

Eggs Benedict were the custom-cooked special one day.
I love poached eggs and English muffins!

I selected fruit with yogurt and some broiled tomatoes to go with the Eggs Benedict.
Lunches were also served on the deck as a buffet.

Kumquats were always on the buffet at breakfast.

The tables for breakfast and lunch were on the deck from which we enjoyed watching the sea.

Dinners on the Ship

Lamb chops.

Appetizer: scallops on shells. Everyone had the same scallops, but the shells were all different.

Octopus dinner entree.

Fish dinner.

Dinner was usually in the more formal indoor dining room, but on one evening
there was a buffet with roasted suckling pig.

Desserts

Cheeses and pastries from some of the shops in town were served after dinner on the last evening.

The ship’s baklava was quite nice: not as super-sweet as some versions of this pastry.

This must be an Orion special, as I had a photo of the same dessert on our previous
Orion voyage in Polynesia in 2019!

A Cooking Lesson in Athens

After our visit to the Acropolis, we headed for a pleasant restaurant in a park, where the chef
gave us a cooking lesson. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very informative, as all the interesting parts of the
preparation were already done. For example, the stuffing for the vegetables was pre-made.
We did get to know our fellow travelers while we were cooking, though.

Blog post © 2025 mae sander

Greek Drinks

Now that we are home from our trip to Greece and Turkey, I’ll try to catch up with some of the photos that I didn’t share during the trip. Today’s post isn’t very serious about art and culture: it’s just about drinks.

The weather during our voyage was brutally hot, so we needed many cool drinks.

Coke cans in Greece and Turkey have personal names on them, as they do in other places.

A sunset dinner in Santorini.

Turkish coffee, of course. This was served at a large establishment selling a wide variety of Turkish carpets.

Athens lunch.

 Photos © 2025 mae sander

My Ann Arbor Kitchen in May

May, 2025: Food in Ann Arbor

May has been a very busy month. We traveled to Virginia for Alice's graduation, and we began our back-yard cooking season in Michigan. For Sherry's In My Kitchen this month, I've divided my post into two parts: Virginia and Michigan; yesterday’s post was about Virginia. Before and after our Virginia trip, we cooked a variety of foods in our kitchen, and after a lot of rain, were able to cook on the grill in our back yard.

Finally: Outdoor Cooking and Eating

In my kitchen and dining room…

I love this new dragon cup made by Evelyn. The dragon wraps around the cup, so I showed two sides of it.

Salmon and coleslaw

At the Neighbors’ House

Sushi Lunch

Beyond My Kitchen: Government Interference in Science and Government Dishonesty Emerges

First, a cartoon suggesting who will eat when we achieve our new social order. (source)

Here’s one clear and believable summary of the current childhood nutrition situation, as expert food scientist Marion Nestle explained it:

“Most American children’s diets are dominated by ultra–processed foods (UPFs) high in added sugars, chemical additives, and saturated fats, while lacking sufficient intakes of fruits and vegetables.”

The “Make America Healthy” report on childhood nutrition was released this month. While the problems in our society with feeding children a healthy diet seem to be pretty well formulated, the solutions seem questionable and more details of the dishonesty of the study have been revealed each day.  

Current budget legislation substantially cuts benefits for families who need them, and reduces benefits to farmers who have supplied food to food banks and other charities. This makes the report seem a bit hypocritical. Note: for info about more government interference in science and health, see “Trump’s new ‘gold standard’ rule will destroy American science as we know it.”

 

Here’s a quote from the press release about this new publication:

“We will end the childhood chronic disease crisis by attacking its root causes head-on—not just managing its symptoms,” said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “We will follow the truth wherever it leads, uphold rigorous science, and drive bold policies that put the health, development, and future of every child first. I’m grateful to President Trump for his leadership—and for trusting me to lead this fight to root out corruption, restore scientific integrity, and reclaim the health of our children.” (source)

New details keep emerging about this report. In particular, a news story on Thursday revealed that the report “contains citations to studies that do not exist.” (source) Several of the authors whose works were “cited” stated that the supposed articles and fictitious coauthors. Further reports on Friday revealed that the study is based on unreliable AI generation. Bottom line from an expert:

“This is not an evidence-based report, and for all practical purposes, it should be junked at this point….It cannot be used for any policymaking. It cannot even be used for any serious discussion, because you can’t believe what’s in it.” (quote from Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association)

I’m not just skeptical about this bogus study, which the Trump administration is nevertheless supporting. I’m terrified by the meaning and implications, in the first quote, of  “truth,” “corruption,” and “scientific integrity.” The administration has undermined existing programs and sabotaged public trust in the food supply. Kennedy's crackpot science ideas are already doing quite a lot of harm in agriculture, medicine, and climate science. Layoffs of food regulators, perversion of regulations, and defunding of agriculture and welfare programs (details here) undermine the well-being and health of all citizens. 

I started writing this on Tuesday, and new revelations each day have caused me to revise what I’ve said. You really can’t trust this government!

Blog post and photos © 2025 mae sander

Shared with Sherry and with Deb.