Thank you IKEA

You already know from our previous post how much we enjoy products from Denmark. We are danskophiles. Sweden also produces many favorites. I think we could easily be considered svenskophiles too. While living there during a long summer internship back in 1997 my husband and I gained an appreciation for IKEA. We were thrilled when the company expanded to the U.S. Now every time we visit one of their stores it's like making a quick trip to Sweden, but without the expensive airplane ticket.

Sadly our closest IKEA is 2.5hrs away, so anytime we are near one we stock up on favorite food items from the market. During our last visit to Scandinavia we found a soda that we really liked, that I have yet to find in the states, which contained elderflower. Luckily IKEA sells Elderflower Saft, a simple concentrated syrup:

 Since I recently posted about grapefruit I remembered that the soda we liked had grapefruit and elderflower in it. It has such a unique taste, but I really like it. Knowing IKEA had the main ingredient I thought I'd grab a bottle and start playing around with ratios to see if I could come up with the right combination.

Elderflower-Grapefruit Spritzer
Serves 2
3 T grapefruit juice
1/3 C Elderflower Syrup
1 C Pellegrino or club soda

Adjust amounts to desired taste and serve over ice.
It is quite refreshing, and again, it has a very unique flavor, unlike anything we usually find in the States.
Now I just need to think of a catchy name for it...

Spring cleaning

A few days ago I was going through a random box left over from our last move and came across an issue of Everyday Food. I quickly flipped to the index to see what kind of drink recipes might be inside.  

This issue contains recipes for smoothies...yum! 

Although her recipe for Hibiscus-Honey Iced Tea calls for rum, which of course I didn't add,

I did realized that I have never tried lime in my tea, only lemon. 

That brings me to tea. Herbal tea to be exact. I don't care for other types of tea, like green and black, mostly due to the caffeine and the fermentation process they go through. The flavors are too intense for me and I am extremely sensitive to fermented foods. So, I have developed a love for loose leaf herbal teas which we usually order from World Spice Merchants in Seattle.
After reading over the list of ingredients I remembered that I have hibiscus that I haven't used yet.

Since it is still chilly outside I decided to drink my tea warm.

Tea container with strainer from IKEA.

I love the color of Hibiscus tea and it has a nice mellow flavor. With lime and a bit of honey, or agave nectar (which is what I used), it had a nice punch. I should also mention that I keep my tea in Mason jars; it stays fresh longer that way.