For The Love of Food, Words and Madcap Adventures

There are many places you can find magic, but my favourite is between the covers of a much loved book. Good words are like alchemy. They have the power to transport you outside of your own world, to engage your senses and open your mind to new possibilities. They have the power to redefine futures and shape nations and I love them. I will never forget the excitement I felt the first time I sat on my own and read my first “grown up” book, The Hobbit. I was instantly in love with the power of words and have been ever since. The power of words have the capacity to take you somewhere completely new and unexplored, from the comfort of your own home, so too, does food.

Food and words will always be two of my great loves. Food, because it has the power to transcend cultural differences and language barriers and bring people together. Words, because they have the power to transform lives and open hearts and minds to new ideas, places and people. Both hold a magic for me that will never fade, a magic I feel blessed to experience on a daily basis.

The ability to create and eat nourishing food and have the world’s literature at my fingertips is something I feel incredibly lucky to have. Not every one has the luxury to be able to eat healthy food or have access to books, which is one of the reasons I feel blessed to lead the life I do. And I’m not saying that I lead a luxurious life, far from it. I’m simply saying that I don’t live in a war torn country, where any day could be my last. I don’t have to worry about where my next meal will come from, and I don’t have to feel small or embarrassed because I am illiterate. I can live and eat well, and read beautiful words without fear or shame, and for that I’m grateful.

So, so grateful.

I am also grateful for my man and partner is crime (should that be life?), who is as creative and book obsessed as I am. I’m grateful that his head is as full of dreams as mine and that he can help turn my book inspired ideas into reality and then take amazing photos of the things we create together. I love that he will go along with my mad ideas, like photographing an Alice in Wonderland themed shoot, at sunset, in the middle of the forest, surround by a million mosquitos and possibly with the Tar Baby lurking somewhere nearby. Luckily, we got out without a single Tar Baby sighting, but we were not so lucky with the mosquitos. You could have played dot to dot on my legs and arms by the time we made it back to the car, I had been bitten so many times.

And speaking of bites, I have been bitten by the blue bug. I seem to be going through a blue phase at the moment, hence the doughnuts and muffins. And even though blue icing might cause alarm bells to go off (are they poisoned?), I can say, without a doubt, that they are yummy and definitely safe to eat. They remind me of something you might be served at The Mad Hatter’s tea party and for this reason alone, I’m inclined to love them. I hope you do too, if you get around to trying the recipe.

In the end, it is the power of food and words to stimulate creativity, fill our bellies and hearts and provide a daily dose of magic that will keep me forever in love and forever in search of the next photographic adventure.

Love and light!

Susanna xo