A Wednesday in Sweden

I took the day off work and drove my wife the 53 miles to the nearest Ikea store in Frisco. Since I hate crowds I refuse to go on weekends. The Wednesday trip was a smart move as there was plenty of breathing room in the big blue store today. We both enjoy our trips to Ikea as it gives us the opportunity to visit without distractions during the long drive to Frisco and back.

A trip to Ikea might be equivalent to a trip to Sears for some of you guys but Ikea stores are a rare commodity here in Texas. It's relatively inexpensive way for us to furnish our house with a more modern style furniture that we both like.

We arrived close to lunch time so I made a mad dash to my favorite part of the store-the cafeteria.

I ate a meal so authentically Swedish (meatballs and that lingonberry stuff) that it came with a miniature flag. They put the flag on the plate to let the cashier know that the fat guy coming through received an extra serving of meatballs. I'm starting to collect the little flags. I topped things off with a serving of almond pie and pretty decent cup of coffee. I believe the Swedes are prolific coffee drinkers, at least that's what I gathered from reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

My wife was eating healthier. She had the stuffed salmon with potatoes and veggies. It's surprising how inexpensive it is to eat here. Sometimes they'll have a special where they'll refund the price of your meals if you spend a certain amount in the rest of the store.

sampling the furniture.

The way the store is layed out you usually end up browsing among the same people through the entirety of your visit.

Ikea specializes in furnishings for confined spaces.

Shawn (Urban Adventure League) had mentioned some time back that Ikea sells a stainless steel moka pot somewhat similar to the Bialetti. I kept my eyes open and found the Radig. It comes in two sizes. I'm guessing that the smaller one is a two cup ($14.99) and the larger a six cup ($19.99)? The sell replacement gaskets but I didn't see them anywhere.

On my previous trip I discovered that Ikea sells fabric at a reasonable price. Most of the stuff is nice and brightly colored but not suitable for male oriented bike bags and stuff. You could make some cool pillow covers and curtains.

Bialetti Photos

I ordered a 1 cup Bialetti Moka Express from Amazon after reading a blog post on Jerome's Bikes. When the package arrived, I opened it and was surprised at just how small the little Bialetti actually was. It's a true one-cup espresso maker. I've made about four or five cups of espresso at this point, I'm still trying to work out the proper grind but so far everything I've made has tasted great.

The Bialetti 1 cup Moka Express. It's tiny, my little girl thinks it's adorable.

The top portion unscrews, you add water to the bottom container and place coffee in the basket.

I ground the coffee a bit too coarse. I should have added a little more as well.

After about 5 minutes it was ready to serve.

It turned out weak this time around.

It still tasted great.

Bialetti Moka Express

I've seen these funny little coffee makers around but I never thought much about them until I read a great post over at Jerome's Bikes.

I've got a French press that I bought for camping, however this stove top espresso machine looks like it would be simpler to use in the field. After reading Jerome's blog post I ordered the 1 cup model through Amazon for $19.99 (check out the positive reviews of this product). It should work well with my Trangia stove. Be sure to watch Jerome's informative video, there's a link at the bottom of his post. Thanks for the recommendation Jerome.