Ruby Foodie – Our day at Ikea [Ee-kay-a]!

Knowing that I love Ikea, Sebastian and I made a trip out to the Ikea in Taastrup one day. I had the best time ever. What can I say? I am easy to please.

We also had dinner there. What can I say? I am a cheap date.

I had a delicious chicken sandwich, while Sebastian had their famous Swedish meatballs with jam and potatoes. (Okay, so I tried to look up what kind of jam it is, and apparently it’s lingonberry jam. I have no idea what the fuck a “lingonberry” is.)

Interesting fact: “Eggplant” is “aubergine” in Europe! When I first heard of this from one of my kitchen mates, I was like, “Whaaaat?! but it totally looks like a vegetable that would grow on a tree full of eggs!”

After eating his meatballs, Sebastian decided that he was “too full” to eat his dessert so I was forced to (happily) eat both desserts.

This cake was so good I ate it all with no regrets. It tasted like a Twix. Just imagine Twix in a cake form.

The chocolate mousse was so rich and creamy and delicious. I checked the receipt after we left and it turns out the cashier forgot to charge us for it.

You might wonder, why would I be so excited to go to an Ikea in Denmark when there are Ikea’s all over the states too? (First of all, I love all Ikea’s) Second of all, one thing you will probably never see at an Ikea in the states, but will find at almost every table at the Ikea’s in Denmark, are people eating their burgers with a knife and fork.

I would look over at the table next to us, a family of four, and see the dad eating a giant burger and french fries ever so delicately with a knife and fork while sipping on a glass of wine. Ahh, Europe.

I kid you not, I have seen a (questionably homeless) man eat a Big Mac with a knife and fork at a McDonald’s in Copenhagen.

Interestingly, there is a glass, “green house” box for smokers right in the dining area. (not pictured) I felt that it would be too weird to take a picture of it –  but I did it anyway and my hands were shaky so the picture turned out really bad.

Ever wonder why Ikea’s stuff has weird names? There’s a method to the madness! So their products are identified by single word names and different categories of products have specific types of names.

According to Wikipedia…

• Upholstered furniture, coffee tables, rattan furniture, bookshelves, media storage, doorknobs: Swedish place names (for example: Klippan)
• Beds, wardrobes, hall furniture: Norwegian place names
• Dining tables and chairs: Finnish place names
• Bookcase ranges: Occupations
• Bathroom articles: Scandinavian lakes, rivers and bays
• Kitchens: grammatical terms, sometimes also other names
• Chairs, desks: men’s names
• Fabrics, curtains: women’s names
• Garden furniture: Swedish islands
• Carpets: Danish place names
• Lighting: terms from music, chemistry, meteorology, measures, weights, seasons, months, days, boats, nautical terms
• Bedlinen, bed covers, pillows/cushions: flowers, plants, precious stones
• Children’s items: mammals, birds, adjectives
• Curtain accessories: mathematical and geometrical terms
• Kitchen utensils: foreign words, spices, herbs, fish, mushrooms, fruits or berries, functional descriptions
• Boxes, wall decoration, pictures and frames, clocks: colloquial expressions, also Swedish place names

So my bed is part of their “Malm” line, and Malm is a place in Norway!

Some terms do not end up translating very well across countries… Like the “Jerker” desk, “Fukta” plant spray, or “Fartfull” workbench.

Ruby Foodie – Dessert, Anyone?

Let’s start off with the famous “Danishes”, aka Danish pastries! So flaky, buttery, and custardy. These ones are from a famous (chain) bakery in Copenhagen, you can find them everywhere.

The one on the right is a “kanelsnegle”, a cinnamon roll!

I (along with a few others, who shall remain anonymous) once gawked, pointed, and yelled through the glass of this bakery, trying to get them to stop throwing the day-old pastries away into garbage bags as they were closing up for the night. We may have been drunk.

[I know these things are just called “Danishes” sometimes, but I find that it could be misleading to say, “Mm I’m going to eat a lot of Danishes!”. Best to add “pastries” after it. #cannibalism]

It’s a good day when there are baked goods in the house.

Cake! Need I say more?

Note the little design printed on the paper under the cake; that little pretzel crown called a “Kringle”. It is a symbol for “bakery” in Denmark! Usually gold, it’s a traditional guild sign that is hung outside bakery shops!

This is Sebastian eating melted ice-cream. He tried to hide it, but I caught him. He took a break from playing Flow on his Ipad to scarf down melted ice-cream with a fork. Back off, ladies – this fine gentleman is mine.

We were at his grandma and grandpa’s house. They spoil us with all sorts of sweets! 🙂