7 Weird Facts About Juggling With Julia

 

7 Weird Facts about Juggling With Julia, from its highly caffeinatted and somewhat objective author. You’ll have to let me know if I missed a couple!

1. My kitchen assistant happens to be a cat.

Cosmo is a discerning critic, speaks volumes with just a squint of the eye, and has perfect attendance.

He’s also a great snuggler. What more could I ask for? Well, his grammar is terrible. He can barely read at all, to be honest.

2. While I did not have a coffee habit for the first five years, the blog would no longer exist without it.

I never much liked the taste of coffee. I loved the smell, but couldn’t get past the bitterness. Discovering cold brewed coffee was an actual life-changing event for me (as was spending time with a coffee roaster.)

Nowadays, I literally can’t wait to get out of bed in the morning. My precious brew is waiting for me, and this guarantees some uninterrupted time on my laptop in the early morning hours.
Coffee is there to say, You’ve got this, and you’re going to be great.

My oatmeal never says that.

3. The most popular recipe on my blog has had the most unappetizing photos.

Since 2012, my Panko Parmesan Baked Haddock has been, by far, the most popular of all my recipes.

24,000+ views! This is thanks to it somehow being #1 in the Google search for ‘panko parmesan haddock.’

And this is the unappetizing image people saw…a somewhat out-of-focus food thing (Is that…a loofah?) accompanied by the saddest sides you ever saw.

So, I recently photographed this recipe again.The difference in these photos speaks volumes about how my photography skills have improved over the years. I have a much greater appreciation for both the ‘you eat with your eyes’ philosophy, as well as basics like food arrangement, natural light and the right angles.

Using a DSLR camera instead of an iPhone 4S doesn’t hurt either 😉

4. My most popular Pin is not about food. It’s about endorphins.

Pinterest is king when it comes to searching for recipe inspiration, so it’s a great place for food bloggers to promote their stuff. I’ve got recipe boards for every possible food category you can think of, and all 350+ of my recipes are there, in addition to hundreds I’ve saved from other Pinners.

My hope is to have my recipes Pinned by others, which will, in turn, send visitors to the blog, where the recipes live.

Sigh. The best laid plans and this is my most popular Pin by far – like, 10X more popular than every other pin from my blog. A quote from the movie Legally Blonde.

If you’ve seen, and loved, this movie, I want you to be friends with me.

If you’ve seen it more than 10 times, then you’re probably already friends with me.

If you’ve seen it more than 20 times, done the Bend-and-Snap in public, quote Elle Woods on the regular,  and avoid seeing Reese Witherspoon in any other role in order to preserve her Elle-ness in your mind, well, then, I hate to break it to you, but…

You are me.

5. An estimated 86K page views can be attributed to one unique visitor – ME.

That’s a mild exaggeration, but I am definitely my own #1 fan. But maybe that’s not that weird? Writers do love to see their own words in print!

What might be weird, though, is how often I re-read old posts. Like, over and over. While I can’t seem to finish my book for book club book more than twice a year, I could probably direct quote you from multiple blog posts.

My favorites, if you’re interested, include this chickpea curry recipe, this photo summary of my week, and a little story about a Princess party (arghhh).

I am happy to say, though, that not once has something I’ve written made me cringe. Could it just be that I hold myself to an incredibly low standard? 😉

Nah. I just try to be genuine at all times. So – good, bad, or ugly – what you see is what you get.

6. I do not read other food blogs.

It’s not that I don’t like what I see out there. In fact there are some I really like (and trust!). I just don’t read them habitually. I’m afraid if I start fan-girling over some other blog, I’ll accidentally steal an idea, a turn of phrase, or something like that.

While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, plagiarism is not.

Trust me on this.

7. I’m more foodie than dietitian.

I love food, I love to eat, and I love to cook. I especially love everyday wholesome foods, but I do make room for decadence regularly.

My healthy eating philosophy is pretty simple. I focus on guilt-free, hunger-based eating. My daily diet is typically full of a variety of fruits and veggies, quality protein, grains, and healthy fats.

There was plenty of calorie-counting in my younger years. I found that it did nothing for me health-wise except make me enjoy eating less, and stress about food more.

I’m thrilled those times are decades behind me, and that experience has everything to do with my healthy eating philosophy now.

So, that is why you’ll find a gazillion healthy recipe ideas, some decadent ones, and only a smattering of nutrition information and advice.

I’d much rather show than tell 🙂