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Happy to hear your positive report. We will be on the NS for the first time in March. We are looking forward to visiting Norway on the Rotterdam next year.

Moussaka is a traditional Greek eggplant casserole made of eggplants and potatoes, a rich, tomatoey beef or lamb mince and topped off with a deliciously creamy bechamel sauce. It is a traditional comfort food. Today’s vegetarian moussaka will eliminate the meat and sub a vegetarian protein. Vegetarian Moussaka from the Mediterranean Dish Layers of roasted eggplant, potatoes, and zucchini with a tasty chunky tomato-lentil sauce nestled in, and topped with creamy bechamel sauce. This dish uses black lentils which are petite and cook fairly quickly. They have a wonderful, creamy consistency, a full-bodied and earthy flavor. Not to mention, they're a great source of protein, polyphenols, iron, and fiber. Eating European's Vegetarian Moussaka adds zucchinis, spinach and feta to the layers of eggplant and potatoes, and tomato sauce with a hint of cinnamon and cheesy béchamel. My Greek Dishes' Vegetarian Moussaka For this veggie moussaka recipe, meat is replaced with a delicious juicy mushroom based sauce. To prepare the sauce chopped mushrooms are sautéed in olive oil, flavored with onions and garlic and then simmered in white wine and tomato sauce. Sending you peace, healing and all good wishes. May your life be good.

Call your PCC or TA; I was unable to add it on the website but my PCC quickly added it for me.

I taught this book to my 10th grade World Literature students during a unit on WWII. It is important to remember the impact of an atomic bomb on the people who survive the explosion. I suggest it as a companion to the Oppenheimer movie.

Vegan Lasagna, really? How many of you are actually going to skip the cheese in lasagna? Certainly not me. I quickly searched for today’s recipes. Best Vegan Lasagna uses a healthy red lentil marinara sauce to sub for meat, makes the ricotta out of cashews and tofu and mozzarella out of cashews and tapioca starch. I like it because it doesn’t use processed foods. I’d eat it if someone made it for me. It looks good. Lasagna made with Store Bought Vegan Ingredients would be easier to make but contains highly processed vegan ingredients for the “meat” and “cheese”.

This is not a cabin question. I see that you have posted this questions on several threads. I think you should call HAL to find the most up to date and accurate information. Try 800-426-0327 Your TA or PCC would also be a good resource.

You can find excellent information about visas and safety for all countries on the US State Department site called Learn About Your Destination

I refuse to sign the slips, it hasn’t been a problem. Once the server gets to know me, they don’t even bring them anymore. I have seen the same “canned” lectures numerous ships. I would like to see more guest lecturers and cooking demonstrations.

Signature and Vista suites do not have access to the Club Orange dining room which is only available on the Pinnacle ships (Rotterdam, Koningsdam , Nieuw Statendam).

@marshhawk @smitty34877 I am usually not comfortable sharing my personal life on a public forum but felt the need to reach out to both of you. What you are doing for your DHs is amazing. You are navigating this challenging time with positivity. Remember to take care of yourself. My DH had head and neck cancer and was treated with chemo and radiation 8 years ago. It was a hard road because the radiation burned has throat and he lost the ability to salivate. I was desperate to get him to eat. I got several cookbooks specifically for cancer patients that contained many tips. It was important that his food be very soft and very moist. He used a lot ranch dressing. I began making Magic Mineral Broth and Bone Broth. He could not tolerate any spice; he loved things that were extremely sweet. Stainless steel utensils impacted his taste so we began to use plastic. Unfortunately, he lost 40 pounds and required a feeding tube which he had for 6 months. Fortunately, he doesn’t remember most of this period in his life and most important he has been cancer free for the past 8 years!

Happy Saturday! Just like potato salad, Italian Pasta Salad leaves the door open to many interpretations. Do you have a favorite pasta salad recipe to share? When I first began cooking for myself, it was all about simplicity. I’d boil some pasta, put bottled Italian dressing over it and add the vegetables I had in the frig. If I was feeling fancy, I’d add some creamy Italian dressing too. Now I prefer to avoid processed foods and make my own dressing but I still use this basic idea. I looked at a lot of recipes and this Italian Pasta Salad was certainly the most colorful. I think it would be very flavorful with the fresh ingredients and cheese, it contains salami too. An Italian in My Kitchen: Summer Pasta Salad This light salad contains mozzarella, corn, tomatoes, celery, pancetta (or bacon) mixed with the pasta and simply dressed with olive oil. An Italian in My Kitchen: Creamy Pasta Salad is made with fresh tomatoes, avocado, zucchini and herbs and a deliciously creamy Homemade Italian Dressing. Positive thought to those who need them. Cheers to those celebrating and cruising.

Hi Jacqui- I’m beginning to feel like our friend who calls herself a “crazy cruiser”. One of my best friends ask me to accompany her on a cruise. I said, why not, I’ll need a break from my DH after 22 days on the Oosterdam. So 10 days after I return from South America, I leave with her for 2 weeks in the Caribbean.

Cooking in parchment paper is a cooking technique that involves wrapping food, typically fish, chicken and/or vegetables in parchment paper. Once wrapped like an envelope, the "packet" is baked in the oven until the entire meal is moist, tender and cooked to perfection. Although I have parchment paper, I usually make my packets out of foil because I find it easier to work with for this purpose. I am posting the entire recipe for Bon Appetit Orange Fish in Parchment because many of you can’t get behind the paywall and this is the only recipe I could find for the Meal of the Day. I have copied the recipe for you. Because the fish, which is flavored with garlic, chile, ginger, and turmeric, is sealed in a pouch before it's baked, it stays extra moist and flavorful with no risk of drying out. If you don’t have parchment, foil works just as well. Feel free to try this method on other types of fish, like salmon, halibut, or cod. 5 garlic cloves, finely grated 1 small Indian green chile or serrano chile, finely chopped 3" piece ginger, peeled, finely grated 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil ½ tsp. ground turmeric 4 8-oz. filets sea bass (1"–1½" thick) Kosher salt Peel of 1 small clementine, finely chopped Cooked white rice and lime wedges (for serving) Step 1 Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 450°. Mix garlic, chile, ginger, oil, and turmeric in a small bowl to make a paste. Place fish on a paper towel and pat dry. Season all over with salt. Using half of the paste, coat 1 side of each filet. Place a 2-foot sheet of parchment paper on work surface. Arrange filets, paste side down, on half of parchment; coat top sides with remaining paste, making sure to evenly cover the entire surface. Top filets with finely chopped clementine peel and fold other half of parchment up and over fish. Fold each open side over three times to seal parchment and make a pouch. Chill 30 minutes. Step 2 Transfer pouch to a rimmed baking sheet and bake 10–12 minutes. Turn off oven and let fish sit in oven 1 minute longer—the pouch should have puffed up at this point. Remove from oven, let pouch cool 1 minute, then open (be careful of the hot steam inside!). Step 3 Transfer filets to plates and spoon juices from pouch over. Serve with rice and lime wedges for squeezing over. Easy Baked Fish in Parchment puts olives, squash and tomatoes inside the packets. There are a few orange slices in each packet too but I’m not sure how much flavor they would impart. I’m definitely going to try this Honey Orange Salmon in Parchment I try to serve salmon once a week because it is so goood for you. I love the combination of sweet and spicy. Sending you peace, healing and all good wishes. May your life be good.

Great video. Thanks for sharing.

Wedge salad is a favorite of many when having dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. Today we have a Mediterranean Chickpea Wedge Salad. Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are considered to be both a vegetable and a protein because they're so nutritious. Some people even consider them a superfood. They are high in fiber, protein, and healthy fats and have a low GI. Potential benefits of chickpeas include helping control blood sugar, manage weight, and support heart and gut health. Mediterranean Chickpea Wedge Salad with Hummus Dressing contains roasted chickpeas, crunchy vegetables, and a delicious creamy dressing. The flavors are similar to what is found in falafel. Wedge Salad with Crispy Chickpeas and Avocado Ranch Dressing that I think makes the salad feel luscious and creamy. The tomatoes bring the brightness, and fresh herbs shower it with freshness. The supremely-spiced chickpeas bring the meatiness and crunch. Here is a Mediterranean Chickpea Salad without the Wedge Super quick to make, light and refreshing. No reason you couldn’t serve it over a wedge. Sending you peace, healing and all good wishes. May your life be good

Good morning! Baltimore celebrated National Night Out last night with the goal of strengthening community relations with law enforcement. I loved this picture from the Baltimore Sun. I feel like everyone has a favorite potato salad. I think it would be great if you shared your potato salad recipe with us. My family is Pennsylvania Dutch. I have two traditional recipes I make and one that I have recently started making that my DH loves. Amish potato salad is sweeter than your classic potato salad thanks to the sugar in its mayonnaise-based dressing. Mustard and vinegar balance out the sweetness and give this potato salad a unique sweet-and-sour kick. It must include hard boiled eggs. I don’t actually use a recipe but this is similar to what I do. The main difference is I cook my potatoes whole, then peel them and cut them up for the salad. German Potato Salad is served warm with vinegar and bacon dripping dressing. I usually use red potatoes and do not peel them. I saw Shout Hallelujah Potato Salad in Southern Living magazine and thought I’d give it a try. The ingredients are potatoes, pimientos, hardboiled eggs, sweet pickles, celery, onion, bell pepper, parsley and jalapenos. The easy dressing is made with mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, olive oil and hot sauce.Looking at the ingredient list might seem a little daunting, but don’t worry about it. Once you’ve got all your ingredients on hand, you just throw everything together and you’re good to go. Just get ready to shout Hallelujah! Sending you peace, healing and all good wishes. May your life be good

🐇🐇🐇Eggplants, also known as aubergines, belong to the nightshade family of plants and are used in many dishes around the world. Although often considered a vegetable they're technically a fruit as they grow from a flowering plant and contain seeds. There are many varieties that range in size and color. I love Baked Eggplant Parmesan. It is usually labor intensive so it is frequently what I order in Italian restaurants. When I have prepared it, I use smaller eggplants, I peel them and cut them into about ½ inch rounds. Although many salt prior to cooking, I do not. This Baked Eggplant Parmesan breads the slices with panko and bakes them before layering them in a casserole with cheese and sauce and placing back in the oven until the cheese melts. Grandma's Baked Eggplant Parmesan This eggplant parmesan recipe is baked in the oven, takes about 15 minutes of preparation. It is breaded with crushed cornflakes, unusual but the recipe’s author says that’s what makes it taste so good. No frying in batches. The outside of the eggplant still gets crispy and flavorful before the sauce and cheese is added on top because of the to a buttered dish. (I would substitute olive oil) This recipe gives you the option to Bake or Fry the Eggplant: Classic Parmesan It includes an easy recipe for homemade San Marzano tomato sauce. Homemade sauce always improves a dish. Sending you peace, healing and all good wishes. May your life be good.

I’m sure most of you already have a recipe for a Classic Juicy Hamburger. My first thought was to use Alton Brown’s recipe from the Good Eats show. I love the way he uses Science to explain how to make food taste good. Unfortunately, his recipe for Burger of the Gods requires you to grind your own hamburger. I’m not sure any on the Daily are dedicated enough for that important step. My next thought was a Bobby Flay recipe. I watch a lot of the Food Network and always liked his show Grillin & Chillin. His recipe Perfect Burger seems fairly basic to me. I was surprised to read that you could use ground chuck or ground turkey. He gives cooking instructions for on the grill, using a grill pan and sauteing on a cast iron griddle. As I continued down the Bobby Flay rabbit hole (remember tomorrow is the first day of the month). I found some info from his Burger 101 class on the Food Network app which I have summarized below. 1. Form your patties gently. "You don't want to spend a lot of time shaping your burger," Bobby says. "Basically, you want to get the burger shaped until it just holds together, so that when you eat it you can sort of see the granular pieces of the beef running through it. Otherwise, it gets like meat loaf and I don’t want that." 2. Press a divot into each patty with your thumb. "When a burger [without a well] cooks, it plumps up like a football," Bobby says. "But when I put a well in the burger, it kind of looks like a funny shape, but it plumps back up to the original shape that you want the burger to be in." 3. Use a flat cooking surface. If you're cooking burgers indoors, skip the grill pan and go with a stovetop griddle, heavy cast-iron pan or large skillet that hold its heat well, it allows a burger to cook in its own juices: "It releases the fat, it releases the juices and it keeps it really nice and moist," he says. 4. Flip only once. "Let the griddle do its job," Bobby says. By flipping the burger only one time, you'll get a crispy seared crust that locks in the burger's juices. Once you've flipped the burger, resist the urge to press down on it with the spatula. 5. Melt the cheese perfectly and completely — with the secret ingredient! “Fill a squeeze bottle with water, add a little bit of water to the griddle to create steam, cover the burger and the result will be an insanely juicy burger that has crispy edges and is covered in ooey, gooey, perfectly melted cheese.” 6. Keep toppings simple. 7. Crunchify. Pickles, coleslaw, potato chips and crushed tortilla chips are just a few ways that he likes to crunchify his burgers. Here's a Classic Juicy Burger that states all you need is good quality meat and some seasonings. The seasoning mix looks tasty. It also gives some pro tips for juicy burgers Sending you peace, healing and all good wishes. May your life be good.

Where are you reading about fog in Baltimore? It is not usually a problem but even if there was fog it would not impact your trip to BWI. What time are you scheduled to disembark? Will you carry your own bags? What day of the week will it be? Will you be using Uber/Lyft to get to the airport or a cruise shuttle? Generally, BWI is close to the port & an easy efficient airport to navigate. I would be comfortable booking a flight 2 hrs after I disembarked but I carry my own bags and use Uber.

I appreciate your replies. The tour leaves early morning of the 29th and is scheduled to return at 6pm. I want to board the ship the evening of the 29th. I just sent an email to my PCC, (she’s one of the good ones with 15 years with the company). Specifically, what department of HAL do you suggest I contact?

We will be boarding the Oosterdam in Buenos Aires on 1/29. The ship doesn’t depart until 6pm on 1/30. How late can we check in on 1/29? Thinking of an all day tour that departs early on the 29 and we would not arrive at the ship until evening.

When Debbie posted Salmon Burgers a few weeks ago, the recipe didn’t have many fans. However, I make salmon burgers all the time using canned salmon but I call them salmon cakes. I wasn’t sure what I would find when I Googled Fish Burgers with Creamy Slaw. The recipes for these fish burgers use whole filets. I think many of you will like these better. Based on @grapau27comment and photo this morning, I believe that what we in the US call a fried fish sandwich, those of British heritage call them fish burgers. They all contain a slaw recipe but feel free to make your favorite or even purchase premade at the store. 15 Minute Fish Burgers suggests the use of red snapper but you can use any white fish. The fish is dredged in flour and fried. The creamy slaw will add a nice crunch to the sandwich. Crumbed Fish Burgers recipe comes from an Australian women’s magazine. I like the use of Panko to provide the “crumbs” and extra crunch. Here is a traditional Fried Fish Sandwich The recipe uses a combination of flour and cornstarch and cold beer. The fish is coated in a dry flour mixture before and after the wet batter to achieve a light and crisp outer coating. Sending you peace, healing and all good wishes. May your life be good.

Happy Saturday! Summertime is all about the grill. Nothing hits the spot quite right like flame-kissed skewers do. Add in a rich, citrus-based marinade and we have juicy and tender, sticky and saucy, grilled orange chicken skewers, bursting with a tangy orange flavor in every bite. The best part? They take only about 10 minutes of actual prep work and 20 minutes to grill making it perfect for an easy, healthy weeknight dinner. You can grill these any which way you desire: over a barbecue grill, an electric grill or on a grill pan. You can even make orange chicken in the oven or an air fryer. Grilled Orange Chicken Skewers gives you the basic marinade. I would marinate the chicken overnight to impart more flavor. Sticky Orange Chicken Kebobs uses thighs instead of breasts. The sweet and spicy sauce is brushed onto the chicken halfway through the grilling process. Additional sauce can be served on the side at the table. Orange Sesame Chicken has a few more Asian ingredients. I like Grilled Orange Chicken with vegetables because I love grilled vegetables. In addition to peppers and onions feel free to add whatever is in your refrigerator. I think zucchini and mushrooms would be good. This sauce is very simple: OJ, soy and honey. Sending you peace, healing and all good wishes. May your life be good.

Hi @cccole I will be boarding when you depart. I plan on making our 3 HIA specialty dinner reservation on the sea days, not the scenic cruising days. BTW- the view from Canaletto is probably better than the view from the majority of table in the Pinnacle.

I love the pic of your grandson getting sworn in as a Jr Park Ranger, the look on his face, precious. The video is so cool with the ship appearing in the mist! (Wish the ranger had his finger out of the shot 🤣) Thank you for taking us along.