HI Cookery is 9!

Our little blog is now 9! We sure have taken our sweet time to savor the journey of food blogging. But even when we reach our destination of “cooking our way through the calendar” next year, we still plan to continue sharing occasional recipes with everyone (we are still very surprised that people other than family and close friends have become loyal subscribers—for this we are flattered and most grateful). We might not post as often but our intent is just to share! Eventually we hope to figure out how to add printable recipe links, too.

We still get requests to monetize our blog but politely decline. We might be missing out on the extra money, publicity or online traffic. But we do not want to feel swayed or pressured to write about specific products. We use whatever is on sale, ingredients that are available locally, gourmet goodies that are gifted to us or items that we personally like/are used to, and these are all revealed in our posts and pictures.

There are so many other beautiful and better blogs out there and we admire those who are able to maintain them all and keep on cooking when life is just a busy reality. They inspire and educate us and we are humbled to be a part of the food blogging community since 2010.

Thanks to our readers for your continued prayers, encouragement and support. Y’all make turning 9 simply divine!

HI Cookery is 8!

Turning 8 is really great!!! That means HI Cookery is even closer to “cooking our way through the calendar” and filling in the missing food holiday dates with recipes. If we can post at least one recipe each month for the next two years, we would be able to complete the calendar in a decade! Although way much slower than other food bloggers with similar sites, we are almost there! Sometimes life just gets in the way—and that is okay.

Since our last blog-o-versary post, Highlander’s job moved its location further so he is now using public transportation (car, bus and train) to the new downtown corporate office and commutes over an hour one way (previously it was only a 15 minute drive). Breakfasts for him are much earlier and our dinners together are later now but we are adjusting our food preparation and cooking schedule. It sure beats having to move again (we did it at least five times already in our 21-year marriage).

As for Islander, she knows her roots (and heart) will always be in Hawaii. But she blooms where she is planted—wherever Highlander’s job moves us. After three years of living in our current location in the Gulf Coast of Texas, she is now president of the small, local cake club. Her friend, Karen B., also from the library culinary book club, is the vice president, and together they have decorated cakes and cookies for family and friends. They are not at all professional bakers or expert sugar artists. But they are learning a lot, teaching each other and having fun with their shared hobby.

And that’s what we wanted this blog to be, too—fun! Not a chore, not a monetizer, not for popularity rankings. HI Cookery is a simple food blog that we wanted to try together eight years ago so we could share recipes and celebrate something every day. We are blessed to have made it this far and thank everyone for taking the time to read our posts since 2010.

Highlander and Islander are truly GR8FUL on HI Cookery’s 8th blog-o-versary!

HI Cookery is 7!

Life is a gift and today is a “present”. This belief has guided us when we began our food blog back in 2010. HI Cookery, now in its seventh year, aims to feature a recipe for every day of the year—because there is something always worth celebrating, such as living another day.

This is especially true when Highlander went to the emergency room and then was taken by an ambulance to be hospitalized last summer for pulmonary embolism. This was a shock to both of us since he has been relatively healthy and there were no symptoms of the original blood clot in his leg. Hopefully, the doctors have treated him early on before he developed a deadly brain aneurysm. We are so grateful to God that Highlander is doing better now. His health still needs to be monitored but we realize just how precious life is—it is truly a gift, and getting a chance to live another day is a “present”! We ask our readers to please pray for his complete recovery.

As we have continued to “cook our way through the calendar” for the past seven years, we have finally filled in the all the days for January, February and March! We have leisurely cooked recipes randomly, but now we will be more focused on filling in the rest of the blanks of the remaining months. Tomorrow is not promised but we have scheduled some recipes to be posted already on their specific holidays.

HI Cookery is still a work in progress and we hope to live on and complete the cooking calendar. As always, thanks to everyone who have supported us in our blogging journey. Eat, drink and be merry!

Tapadh leat! Mahalo! Thanks!

Highlander and Islander