Toni’s blog is one of those personal blogs that I visit regularly. She came up with this ‘post-your-ref-door-pic’ idea and though I find mine uninteresting I took this photo just few hours after reading her blog.

That would be our refrigerator – undeniably made in China with those Chinese characters. Well, this should be a post about what used to be on my ref’s door. You see, I used to have few cutie magnets particularly this set of magnetic picture frames but my son Cean played with all of them aside from the fact that he’s not comfortable seeing a photo of me with a baby sitting on my lap. The baby of course is none other than him!

Cean is the one in charge of what’s to get displayed on the ref’s door. That piece of paper that lists all things I need to buy the next time I go out to shop that gets me into trouble. Cean nags me every time I hang one. He would always complain that it doesn’t belong there but on top of the ref next to the microwave. Right now, he decorates the door with:

1. Those 4 coupons we got from his favorite Korean barbeque resto nearby (present 5 coupons upon ordering a set of chicken wings and get 5 pieces free);

2. That oval stuff which is also a bottle opener and a giveaway from the same Korean resto;

3. That round, green magnet – sole survivor piece of a broken and long-forgotten toy; and

4. That Korean girl pinning my grocery list which was given to Cean by a strange guy we met at a Mcdo outlet. A funny but seemingly loveable man, a southern Chinese who can speak English in a city that seldom speak that language, he also has a funny nickname – Smiley! Yeah that’s right. He calls himself Smiley complete with a smiley button pinned on his shirt!

Iska

I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.

My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.

Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.