It may be obvious to you, if you follow my Instagram account (which you’re all doing, I’m sure), that I have a great love of books and reading. Libraries and bookstores are some of my favourite places to hang out. It’s probably also obvious that I love cooking and baking. Not all my recipes make it on to the blog, but I do like sharing what I’ve made on Instagram. Right, so what do food and books have to do with anything? Well, both food and books are ways to go on adventures.

I think it’s probably obvious how one can go on an adventure by reading. I imagine that being transported, if only in one’s imagination, is one of the big reasons why people enjoy reading so much. But, food? If you’re like me, one of your favourite things to do when you travel is scope out the best places to eat and drink. When I’m back at home, I take inspiration from the things I’ve made to put together recipes that remind me of things I’ve eaten. And in doing so, I’m magically transported back to that destination again. In an attempt to celebrate adventures in book reading and creating food, I’m starting this new series, which will highlight what I’m currently reading, along with some food I’ve recently made.
Being adventurous and going on adevntures requires a certain amount of creativity.
When you hear the name David Usher, the first thing you think of is author—right? Well, not likely. Most likely, you know of David Usher from his solo career and as being the lead singer of the band Moist. David also has a company called CloudID Creativity.
His book Let the Elephants Run: Unlock Your Creativity and Change Everything is an “essential guidebook to reconnecting with our imagination and nurturing our creativity in accessible and productive ways.”
One thing you’ll notice about this book that’s unique, is that Usher encourages the reader to write, scribble, be creative in another way, inside the book. There are quite a fe action steps to take along the way, too.
Truth be told, I have no issues with being creative in my everyday life. This book appeals to me, though—in the way that positively reinforcing something you already know brings clarity and confidence.
The dessert that I paired with the book this week is a peach turnover. I needed to use up the pastry cream that I made a few days ago, so this quick fillo pastry dessert was born! I really like how the pastry cream turned out and I will definitely be making it again for pie filling (I have never made pie before, but plan to this fall), or other desserts.
One section in this book talks about ways to go against the patterns to unlock creativity. Trying new recipes is definitely one way of doing just that!