#50 IKEA'S Real Swedish Food Book

#50 IKEA'S Real Swedish Food Book

Another milestone, 50 days and 50 Cookbooks! If anyone has persevered and read a few of these posts, thanks. You may have noticed I often complain about what we can't buy up here in Canada in the way of food items. I'm not complaining today because we have an IKEA and the family back home in Kansas doesn't, na, na, na. Not only do we have an IKEA, we've had one once since we moved up here in 1985. It's moved several times and now it's HUGE and so much fun to visit.

If you haven't been to one, it's kind of hard to explain what all the fuss is about but it's almost like a cult. A good Swedish cult of simple design and affordable furniture and stuff. You enter the place and you can drop off the kids at the ball room and then you're free to wander. There's arrows that point the way, though all the different areas. Rooms and kitchens are all set up to show you what you can do with all the neat Swedish doodads. You push your way through the place picking up bin numbers of where the items you want are stored in the warehouse. It's all beautifully organized.

Plan on spending half a day, get there early and have the $1 breakfast and be sure to try the meatballs for lunch with lingonberry juice. You can stop for a snack of a soft serve ice cream cone or a cinnamon roll to keep up your strength. It's clean and bright, there's always something new. It's like a free amusement park for the whole family!

I know just where to go in the warehouse area to pick up my Billy Book Shelves, they weigh a ton but come knocked down flat so they easily fit into most cars. It's great you get to take everything but the custom kitchens home with you. Everything you need to assemble the furniture is right there in the package except a hammer. The instructions come in 18 different languages, does anyone know where they speak Suomi, Magyar or Cesky? There's also great pictures for the more visually inclined. My daughter and I can have a Billy put together in about 15 minutes. A Malm takes longer because of the drawers. I'd love to give a Effektiv or a Anordna a try but I'm running out of room. We always find stuff I didn't know I need, the Gosig Mus were just 75 cents so I got 40 of them and used them on my Christmas tree. Very cute! So while I won't be making the Herring au Gratin, I might give the Swedish smoked reindeer and curry remoulade a try. You can buy your reindeer right in the little store grocery, try finding that in Kansas, ha. Cookbook # 50 is IKEA'S Real Swedish Food Book.