Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 5 years! I started this food blog during our 2nd year in Beijing. Funny how time flies.

Last year, while we talked about our comfort food I also gave away some goodies to my readers. I planned to do the same this year but things got in the way and wasn’t able to prep for it. But you know how grateful I am to all of you who come and visit, not to mention I was in hiatus for about a couple of months. I can’t find any other way to say thank you even though keeping track of what I cook was my only intention when I started this blog. (Boo.) Para bang kumuha ng lapis at papel, online lang, para huwag makalimot.

My yearly routine is to share a compilation of selected dishes I published for the year. While working on it, I noticed a plugin that shows this blog’s top 10 posts. Very interesting. I remember when I first installed it the top posts kept changing for at least a year. After a while, the list became consistent with the dishes below. I have no idea why but these are the most popular ones, probably the most goggled amongst my posts.

The first on the list is my recipe page. Not surprising as one who enters this site would probably wanna check out the rest of the recipes. I do the same whenever I go to a food blog. I regularly update this page and check if there are any broken links.

Now the top 5 (and this is not American Idol):

Giniling Galore

There are 2 recipes in this post – giniling guisado (sometimes called picadillo) and a recycled version with aubergine to make an omelet. I am not quite sure which one attracts the readers. The recycled food twist? Maybe, but I bet it’s giniling guisado, a popular turo-turo dish. In fact, I learned it myself when my parents operated one ages ago. I could probably cook the dish with my eyes closed.

Crispy Isaw
Yup, chitterlings or pig intestines. Offal food gets top notice. Intriguing is what make viewers come to this page. Filipino drinkers love for pulutan? Or some people’s utter disgust of it? I’ve read a blog about strong dislike for offal food and particularly cite this post for ewwness. Think about the balut Fear Factor thingy. I’d say, inuman na lang tayo!

How to Cook Adobo? Lemme Count the Ways…

Not surprising. No, not at all. I have never met anyone who doesn’t like adobo. Kahit isang beses man lang siguro sa buhay nila ay nagustuhan nila ito. Even non-pinoys love this strong-flavored, garlicky dish. I’ve served it to Europeans, Chinese, Koreans, Kiwis, who else? They all love it. (This post has links to different kinds of adobo.)

Ginataang Kalabasa at Sitaw
Top veggie recipe. Isn’t it great? A very easy, quick dish yet delicious, satisfying and healthy. We love ginataang gulay – one of the reasons why my pantry is never without a can of coconut milk. And you can use almost any vegetable combination you like.

Sinaing na Tulingan (& Tulingan Pasta)
Ahh, soul food to me that reminds me of home and warm memories of family dinners. Maasim, maalat, madaming kanin, eating with your hands. And I am quite sure there are lots of people out there, Batanguenos in particular, who want to re-create this dish. A recycled tulingan recipe included in this post – tulingan pasta.

My other most popular posts are skinless longganisa (with step-by-step how-to’s), pork barbecue (with my photo in Wikipilipinas!), sinigang na baboy and embutido (with a recipe written in Chinese).

Happy 5th to ISKAndals.com.

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.