That’s a bottle of wine I received as a gift from our lawyer clients just few hours ago during the opening celebration of my 1st completed project in New Zealand. A well-reviewed project matched with a pay rise in a little less than 6 months? Sabi nga ng mga Kiwi… “not bad aye?” Life is beautiful.

At tamang tama ang regalo hindi ba? Below is a glass of wine and a slice of cake… as this blog turns 3 today! Weeee! More than 2 years of blogging from Beijing and now from Auckland, NZ. What makes me go on? First and foremost, I still love to cook and ISKAndals is still my online recipe journal. But what really comes as a surprise delight is when I receive comments and emails of appreciation for my home-style recipes, how easy to follow they are, and how much they like my site. Isn’t it great?

Behold! Tis’ tiramisu adorned with a single red rose petal. Yum!

Just like the previous years, my simple way of saying thank you will be another compilation of selected recipes posted since June last year.

You can download them one by one by clicking the thumbnails above. Right-click a thumbnail to open a bigger file, then save image to your computer. They are A4 printable size. Or just click here to grab the whole compilation in PDF format.

Here’s another slice of cake to fellow blogger celebrating her blog’s birthday. But Toni of Wifely Steps is a lot more creative about the anniv thingy. She���s giving away journals to lucky bloggers and one will receive Batjay���s Mga Kwento ng Batang Kaning Lamig. A friend’s hubby bought Batjay books for me (including the 1st one) and will arrive early next month but nevertheless sali pa din ako hehehehehe.

Toni is so much fun to read. I could write a long list of favorites that will definitely include her Ref Door Project. Though I don���t recall how I stumbled on Wifely Steps, I do remember the posts that made me a lurker. One would definitely be Story Time and Creativity. She posts pictures and let readers get creative and tell stories. I had so much spare time during those days and had fun joining those creativity exercises.

I also like her post about her Girlfriends. That was a trip down memory lane and nostalgia hits me big time. Toni���s Gigi and Sheila reminds me of my 2 other girlfriends. Luckily for me, I join one of them here in NZ.

Once again, happy anniversary to ISKAndals.com and Wifely Steps!

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.