Spring begins on March 20th and Easter Sunday is April 1st…but IKEA is having a celebration on Friday, March 9th.

You can join participating IKEA stores nationwide* for a Påskbord, a Swedish smörgåsbord buffet in honor of the Easter holiday.
 
IKEA PASKBORD MENU**

The all-you-can eat buffet of classic Swedish food offerings includes:

First Course

 
Second Course

 
IThird Course

 
Desserts & Beverages

 
Boy, are we hungry!

All this and more is yours at the IKEA Påskbord buffet—but only if you get your tickets before they sell out (photo courtesy IKEA).

Tickets are available for only $16.99 per person, $4.99 for kids 12 and under, or at a discounted rate for IKEA FAMILY*** members of $12.99 per person, $2.99 for kids 12 and under.

Seating is limited, so head to your local IKEA store ASAP (find your closest store at IKEA-USA.com).
 
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* IKEA Carson will not host an Easter Påskbord in 2018.

**Menu is subject to change due to product availability.

***IKEA FAMILY is a benefits program that offers membership perks including special product discounts, sneak previews, free coffee and tea in the IKEA Restaurant, and more. Consumers can sign up for the free program online or in-store.

[2] Dessert pots in Lemon Ganache (above) or Chocolate Ganache (next photo) pack a lot of flavor into a small but satisfying size (photo courtesy The Coconut Collaborative | Facebook).

[3] The Chocolate Ganache pot (photo courtesy Flicking The Vs).

[4] The company calls their products “free from dairy but not from temptation” (photo courtesy The Coconut Collaborative).

The #1 brand of coconut milk-based yogurt brand in Europe, The Coconut Collaborate has come to the U.S., bringing their very impressive dairy-free products. While we love dairy, we also want to eat more sustainably—and more plant-based foods let us do that.

Whether you have a current brand of coconut-based yogurt, don’t like coconut yogurt, are lactose intolerant, or are happy with your dairy-based yogurt, The Coconut Collaborative yogurts must be tried!
 
 
COCONUT-BASED YOGURT THAT DOESN’T TASTE LIKE COCONUT!

They yogurts have an amazing taste, and unlike U.S. coconut yogurt brands we’ve tried, the taste isn’t coconut.

For example, with the So Delicious brand, the taste of coconut shines through the fruit or other flavor. With The Coconut Collaborate yogurts, which are made with cultured coconut milk, the fruit flavors are as prominent as with cow’s milk yogurt.

You taste the delicious fruit-on-the-bottom fruit compote (not preserves), currently Blueberry, Mango and Passionfruit.

Even the Original, made from 95% coconut, can compete in deliciousness with cow’s milk yogurts.

We emphasize this because, even coconut lovers like us don’t necessarily want every flavor of yogurt to have a coconut taste.

The yogurt texture is very think and creamy; the experience is delightful. (With every spoonful, we said to ourselves: “So good! So good!)

The products are also targeted to a healthy lifestyle: plant-based, low in sugar, gluten-free and vegan. The brand is in the process of obtaining OU Pareve kosher certification.

 
 
AND THERE’S MORE: LUSCIOUS DESSERT “PARADISE POTS”

As delicious as the yogurts are, there’s even a more an indulgent treat: Paradise Pots in chocolate ganache or lemon ganache.

The name does not exaggerate. At only 100 calories, these single serving dessert pots are bites of paradise.

Made with coconut cream instead of coconut milk, they’re even richer and thicker than the yogurts, with the benefits.

Paradise Pots are guilt-free (100 calories) richness that will satisfy cravings, exactly as if you’d had a pot de crème or mousse.

Treat yourself, family and friends to a Coconut Collaborative tasting session. You’ll enjoy it more than ice cream!

Here’s the store locator.
 
 
SUSTAINABILITY

All of the company’s coconuts are sourced from plantations in Southeast Asia.

The company’s Pur Projet (Pure Project) supports the local farmers, providing a sustainable income for the communities. The project plants thousands of coconut trees each year to ensure that the farmers have new crops to sell.

Discover more at TheCoconutCollaborative.com.
  

We got our love of rice pudding from our mom, who made it from scratch, with lots of raisins and cinnamon. Before she put it in the fridge to chill, we got to eat some warm.

If your Valentine—or your mom—loves rice pudding, try this special recipe*. The coconut flavor comes from coconut milk, which is much more subtle than flaked coconut. The raisins are soaked in coconut rum.

If you don’t have coconut-flavored rum and don’t want to buy it (you can look for miniatures), add a bit of coconut extract to plain white rum.

However, if you do buy a bottle of coconut rum, you can use it in Piña Coladas and other rum drinks, with after-dinner coffee, in baking (cakes, cupcakes, brownies) and other recipes.

If you’re a real DIY cook, you can make your own coconut rum.

And then, this sophisticated recipe adds the heavenly, crunchy top of crème brûlée. The passion fruit is spooned over the top. If you don’t like the tartness of passion fruit or can’t find any, substitute a fresh mango.
 
 
PASSION FRUIT RICE PUDDING BRULÉE

Ingredients For 8 Servings

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the raisins and rum in small bowl. Let stand at room temperature while preparing pudding.

2. PREPARE the coconut broth: Combine the nonfat milk and the next 4 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in the seeds from vanilla bean; then add the vanilla bean. Bring to a simmer, remove from the heat and allow to steep, uncovered, for 1 hour. Then strain and put 1 cup of broth in a heavy medium saucepan to cook the rice.

3. RINSE the rice in a medium bowl of cold water. Drain and repeat 2 more times. Add the rice to the pan with 1 cup of the coconut broth. Cook the coconut broth and rice over medium-high heat until almost all liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes.

4. ADD the remaining coconut broth; cook over low heat until the rice is tender, stirring frequently, about 13 minutes. Remove from the heat; the mixture should be thick. Stir in 6 tablespoons sugar, transfer to large bowl and cool.

5. WHIP the cream in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Fold half of the whipped cream into the cooled rice.

6. DRAIN the raisins and stir along with the lime peel into the rice. Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Divide the mixture among eight 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups.

7. PREHEAT the broiler (or use a kitchen torch). Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon sugar over each pudding. Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil until sugar caramelizes, watching closely to prevent burning, about 3 minutes.

8. SPOON the passion fruit over the puddings and serve; or chill for later.

[1] If your Valentine loves rice pudding, try this Rice Pudding Brûlée recipe (photo © Epicurious.com)*.

[2] Personally, we’d like a larger serving, but some will prefer smaller ramekins like these (photo courtesy Epicurious).

[3] Some passion fruits have have smooth skins; this variety has wrinkled skins (photo courtesy Good Eggs).

[4] Coconut rum can be variously used in other puddings, cakes and brownies, after-dinner coffee, gelatin shots and a broad variety of cocktails (photo courtesy Malibu Rum).

*We received this recipe, called Warm Jasmine Rice Pudding with Passion Fruit, from Savor California, crediting rice farmers Rue & Forsman Ranch. We found the identical recipe on Epicurious.com. Condé Nast did not respond to our inquiry requesting clarification, but we’re guessing the copyright goes to Condé Nast Digital, Inc.

We have a passion for red grapefruit, deep in flavor and always refreshing. We try every recipe that comes our way.

Most recent is this Red Grapefruit Collins, which we adapted from one by Elegant Affairs Caterers in the greater New York area.

The original Tom Collins recipe is a mixture of gin, lemon juice, sugar and soda water, in a tall (a.k.a. collins) glass filled with ice. The classic garnish is a maraschino cherry and a lemon wedge.

Here, grapefruit juice substitutes for some of the lemon juice, plus the garnish; and the glass is rimmed Margarita-style, with coarse salt and grapefruit zest.

(BONUS TIP: Try mixing lime zest with the salt for your next Margarita rim. It really elevates the experience.)

(FOOD 101: types Of red grapefruit and the history of grapefruit.)
 
 
RECIPE: GRAPEFRUIT COLLINS

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. RIM the glass with a grapefruit wedge and dip the moist edge into the grapefruit zest-salt mixture.

2. ADD the gin, lemon juice, grapefruit juice and simple syrup to a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into the glass.

3. Add the sparkling water and stir gently. Garnish with grapefruit wedge and mint leaves.

In the 19th century there were numerous drinks that, like the Tom Collins, were made with gin, lemon juice, sugar and soda.

There are numerous claims to the origination of the Tom Collins, one of the most popular of the classic cocktails.

The most reliable is that the recipe for the Tom Collins first appeared in the 1876 edition of Jerry Thomas Bar-Tender’s Guide. The drink was heavy on the gin (one large wine glass of it!).

Here’s the recipe from Thomas’ book:

(Use large bar-glass.)
Take 5 or 6 dashes of gum syrup*.
Juice of a small lemon.
1 large wine-glass of gin.
2 or 3 lumps of ice;
Shake up well and strain into a large bar-glass. Fill up the glass with plain soda water and drink while it is lively [source].

The drink got its name from The Great Tom Collins hoax of 1874. A practical joke was making the rounds, wherein one man told another that a man named Tom Collins was saying defamatory things about him. The “victim” didn’t know a Tom Collins, but went off in search of the rascal—who of course was fictitious.

This became known as “The Great Tom Collins Hoax of 1874.” Eventually, a bartender caught on and named a drink “Tom Collins,” so that if anyone came into his bar looking for Tom Collins, he would [unknowingly] have ordered a tall gin drink.

According to Business Insider, the lame joke went viral in New York and Philadelphia. Newspapers printed stories of false sightings of Tom Collins, songs were written that memorialized the joke.

By 1878, the Tom Collins was being served in the bar of New York City and elsewhere, identified as among “the favorite drinks which are in demand everywhere” [source].

It still is!

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*Gum syrup (gomme syrup in the U.K.) was the pre-Prohibition sweetener in many classic cocktail recipes. It has been replaced by simple syrup. True gum syrup contains gum arabic, an emulsifier that it adds a silky texture and softens the alcohol’s flavor. You can buy it online or make it.
  

You don’t have to turn on the oven to make this no-bake cake from FAGE Total, but you do need to refrigerate it for 12 hours to set.

The fudgy chocolate is accented with coffee liqueur: Illy, Kahlúa, Tia Maria or whatever you have on hand.

If you don’t like coffee liqueur, substitute orange liqueur (Cointreau, Grand Marnier, Gran Gala, Triple Sec), rum, whiskey or spirit of choice.

The recipe allows for even more personalization:

Your choice of ingredients is mixed into the chocolate: broken cookie pieces, dried fruits (including coconut), nuts, etc. It’s an opportunity to go through the cupboard and toss in whatever you like.

Prep time is 30 minutes, refrigerator time is 12 hours.

Given the sweetness of the cake, a dollop of plain Greek yogurt or crème fraîche is a nice counterpoint.
 
 
RECIPE: NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE KAHLÚA CAKE

Ingredients For 10 Servings

 
Preparation

1. MELT the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water. In another bowl…

2. LIGHTLY WHIP the heavy cream, then fold in the yogurt and set aside.

[2] Crème fraîche: the consistency of yogurt with the flavor of sour cream. You can buy it or make it.

4. POUR the melted chocolate has into the coffee mix, then fold in the mixed nuts/dried fruit/broken biscuits.

5. START to fold the cream and yogurt into the chocolate mixture. When they are fully mixed into the chocolate, pour the mixture into a 10-inch-round cake tin. Refrigerate for 12 hours.

6. TO SERVE: Turn the cake out onto a board, cut into 10 portions, and serve each on a dessert plate garnished with a sprig of mint and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt.