stovetop smells

an answer to the age old question of how to make your home smell like you just baked some delicious treats without actually baking: stovetop simmering. i don’t like candles and the chef is adamantly against any type of artificial scents — a tough spot to be in when you have a 90 pound dog constantly threatening to make your house smell like, well, dog. here’s our solution…. all natural scents, made with whatever you have in your pantry. perfect!

fill a saucepan with water and add ingredients to come up with the perfect smell for your home. for us, it’s cinnamon + citrus. let the water simmer, but keep it from boiling — and remember to check it every couple hours to add more water. you always want the pan to always be full of water otherwise all the stuff you threw in will become very difficult to scrape off the bottom (not that i know that from experience…. whoops!).

here are a few great combos:

• cinnamon stick + oranges / lemons
• tsp vanilla + oranges
• cranberries + cinnamon stick
• apple slices + cinnamon stick
• cranberry + oranges + cinnamon stick
• bay leaves + cloves + cinnamon stick
• lavender + anise + nutmeg
• lavender + cinnamon stick

you really cant go wrong. go through your spice cabinet, sprinkle in what smells good and add a few cinnamon sticks. pretty soon it’ll feel like you’re ten years old on christmas eve. let me know if you have a favorite scent — i’d love to try it!