skinny girls & mayonnaise

This is the 100th post at Skinny Girls & Mayonnaise! Thank you all for coming to the blog, reading my ramblings, using the tips and recipes, and contributing your own thoughts. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have, and look forward to the next 100.

It’s not that I’m obsessed with mayonnaise or anything. It just represents a lot in my philosophy toward food, and what I wanted to write about in this blog. Mayonnaise is something of a food Rorschach test. At one end, it can signify gluttony and poor eating habits. At the other, to those who gobble quinoa and sip wheatgrass juice and obsessively count calories, it is the devil in white. To those of us in the middle, it’s simply a really great condiment. And can be part — along with fresh fruits and vegetables, wine, cured meats, red wine, stinky cheese, farm fresh eggs, dark chocolate, coffee, butter, fresh seafood, cowboy ribeye steak, cold ale on a hot day, gelato, heirloom tomatoes and all other good things eaten passionately and in moderation — of a balanced diet and a healthy attitude toward food. In other words, don’t freak out about it. And don’t eat too much.

When I began the blog, I thought I would write more about restaurants and other experiences eating out. But lots of other people are already doing that really well, and plus I don’t go out that much. When the food at home is better than most restaurants, why bother? Going to restaurants can be a frustrating experience. Foods that should be made with a delicate hand are often overcooked; those that should be long-braised or -roasted are often underdone. I can usually immediately identify what’s missing — or what there’s too much of — in a restaurant dish. Waiters and waitresses rarely find the proper intuitive balance of being friendly and attentive to your needs, but not overstaying their welcome at your table or trying to delight you with their comedic timing (this job being, after all, merely an annoying necessity en route to their destiny as actors or screenwriters). I digress. We like to think of our home as a free restaurant for us and our friends. Most people want to cook at home, but just want to do it better. That’s where I thought this blog could be of service.

I’ve enjoyed watching the metrics of my website. Some days, a few dozen people visit, other days a couple hundred. Lists tend to be popular, as do posts that feature videos — especially with kids. My most popular post of all was “The Skinny Girls Diet”, which was partially humorous and partially serious. And some people couldn’t tell one from the other. For those who are wondering, there will likely be a “Skinny Girls Diet, Pt. II,” once I can think of another 50 things. A lot of people also liked “Skinny Girls Top 10 Pet Peeves.” More of these are sure to come, too. When it comes to food, I’m easily annoyed.

A lot of people come to SG&M through web searches. And it’s fascinating the search terms that get them here. We get the inevitable occasional hit from someone searching “hot skinny girls” or “skinny girls in mayo,” whom I guess realizes upon getting his results that he actually is kinda hungry. Some searches are totally random and I can’t figure out how they lead back to my website, i.e.: “beste smørbrød tips” (I’ve never even mentioned smørbrød), “can you do tempura in olive oil?” (no), “secrets to being a thin girl” (I picture a chubby 14-year-old with pimples reading about molecular cooking), “road to Santa Barbara” (isn’t that a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby movie??), “The Kay-Settes starring Butchers Blind” (Paul’s fault), “Virginia Woolf master’s degree,” “monsanto monster vegetables,” etc. I just hope some of these searchers liked the site and will return.

Just a reminder: If you haven’t already done so, you can sign up to receive email notifications whenever we add a new post. Just scroll down the right hand column until you get to “Email Subscription” (beneath Archives), add your email address, and you’re done! I promise you will get no spams nor friendly emails from marketing affiliates — only good recipes and fun-filled posts. And if you do enjoy the blog, be sure to tell a few friends. My goal is nothing short of world food blog domination!

Thanks again, and many happy meals (but not Happy Meals®) to you!