Do you like how your house smells?

[Stinky The Clown]

We made a summery pasta for supper. All fresh and cooked no more than a minute or so - more a warm salad dressing than a sauce.

It had very finely chopped fresh garlic. That was the longest cooking item apart from the actual macaroni.

Whenever we cook with garlic, the house has that wonderful smell. Tonight it was very fresh smelling. Unadulterated with too many other ingredients .... just some fresh basil, parsley, and oregano.

I wish some smells could be sensed longer. It seems our nosese get used to smells so quickly and can't really smell them for very long. They just seem to fade - or become ignored by our senses.

I loved the way our house smelled tonight. We ate on the deck with the door left open. The small wafted out into the unseasonably cool, dry night air.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. Oh, yes..........

The other day I coarsely chopped a trio of yellow onions and left them to brown ever so slowly in some seasoned butter (parsley, smoked paprika, chipolte powder) for a couple of hours, with the occasional stir. Then I threw in a handful of chunked garlic cloves, about ten cloves in all, stirred them up a bit more, and, a couple of hours later, they were all gently cooked down to a rich, golden topping for plain grilled steaks.

There was no need to exhale here. Inhaling took care of everything.

[grasswire]

2. with five cats..........

sometimes not so much.

Tonight, however, it smells of roasted root vegetables drizzled with olive oil and fresh thyme, of oven barbequed chicken breasts and of homemade yeast rolls -- the old-fashioned white dinner rolls everyone's grandma turned out at the drop of a hat. I haven't made them in a long time, but it's cool-ish today and we have fresh blackberry jam.

I'm about to pop them in the oven; rising is done. I'll fight off the neighbors if the smell brings them to the door.

[Longhorn]

16. With five dogs, I agree!

:)

However, last night, it smelled of ground sirloin hamburgers and corn-on-the-cob. They were supposed to be grilled but we ran out of gas so they had to be finished inside. Very tasty, though! :hi:

[grasswire]

3. have you ever eaten at the American Cafe....

...I think there used to be one at the harborfront in Balmer. It had the best aroma and I remember it many years later. It was like a combination of toasted garlic croutons and coffee. I loved it. I particularly remember it at the American Cafe by the National Press Club in the District.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Ah ....... the American Cafe ..........

...... my partner was their consultant for years and years.

Little secret about them ...... no real kitchen.

All their food was produced in a commissary they operated. They shipped the finished product to the stores where it was finished off and served.

Now, that's not to say the food was no good. It was actually very good. Excellent, even. They perfected the commissary thing to a high art and a science. They foresaw the shortage of skilled culinary help and figured out how to make it work with fewer highly skilled people and some clever recipes and fast chilling methods. They were very advanced for their day.

The original stores got sold years ago. The partners made a boatload of money. Two left the food business. The third one, along with the guy who was their original chef, and who is now a partner, is still going strong in other restaurants.

[hippywife]

4. Usually only when I cook.

I'm kinda with grasswire on this one. We have two cats and a very small house. No place to really put the cat box that is out of the way and still convenient for the cats, well particularly the old, arthritic one.

But when I cook or bake...aaahhhh! :)

Glad you had such a wonderful fresh dinner to savor on more than one sensory level. :hi:

[Stinky The Clown]

6. What we do with the cat box .......

We have one, and sometimes two, dogs. We also have a cat. We got one of those Litter Maid things.


http://www.littermaid.com/see_it_work.asp

We were mercilessly teased when we got the first one. We're now on the third one and would not have it any other way. There is absolutely no cat smell in our house. Were it up to us to keep up with the litter box, our house would be condemned as a Super Fund clean up site.

Further, I keep it in a basement bathroom's shower stall. I also keep the bathroom's vent fan on.

I share that bathroom with the cat. We get along fine. Except when I'm in there and she has to go. She scolds me.

Damned cat.

[sazemisery]

9. Litter Maid is my friend also

Expensive but well worth it.

[kestrel91316]

14. I've had a few too many patients get scared by those things to

recommend them, lol.

I use PetSmart's Exquisicat Scoop at home and love it, so that's what I recommend, in a box with no hood, scooped once or twice a day as needed. Nice hard clumps and NO odor.

[SalviaBlue]

7. Usually, I do not.

However, my husband has said that he loves to walk in after work and smell dinner cooking. I guess since I am doing the cooking I am accustomed to the smells and don't notice so much. I know what you're talking about though, its such a homey thing to smell dinner cooking.

Its always nice to notice when life is good. I guess you could say "stop and smell the ... house."

I'm afraid that when I walk into the house after work, I smell my dirty old dog. But I guess that's a good thing too... it means he's still kicking.

[htuttle]

8. My kitchen smells vaguely of Calcutta

I make lots of Indian food, we live on a very busy street, and the catbox is in the corner...

[sazemisery]

10. The smell of curry and saffron...

is dreamy.

[japple]

11. The other night I steamed some broccoli and for the longest time

afterwards, I kept thinking, "I need to go clean out the litterbox!" After I cook something like broccoli or cabbage, I usually burn at least one stick of Blue Pearl incense to help cover up the stink.

The past week, I've been making applesauce and nothing smells quite as homey as apples and cinnamon simmering on the stove.

[Warpy]

12. Right now, my house smells of sick kitty

and all the medication I've been using on her. So no, I don't like the way it smells.

I made a fresh batch of Szechuan pepper-salt last night and even that didn't kill the funk.

However, I will greatly enjoy it on the ears of sweet corn I bought yesterday.

[NashVegas]

13. Sometimes, And Sometimes Some Smells Stick Around Longer Than I'd Like

I'll never forget this past spring when I learned the connection between "old lady house smell" of my childhood, and demi-glace.

[RareAvis]

15. Cinnamon Rolls

(well alright they were frozen but I doctored them)

The cinnamon rolls I pulled out of the oven an hour ago smell wonderful!

My neighbor commented when I went out to fill the bird feeders, so I brought one ( they are the size of VW hubcaps) over to them.

[hippywife]

18. Cinnamon rolls do create

quite the aroma when they bake. People trying to sell their homes are often advised to bake either cinnamon rolls or brownies just before a showing. People are drawn into that scent that says "home."

Welcome to DU and Cooking and Baking, RareAvis. :hi:

[RareAvis]

20. Ha.. sounds like good advice

The scent drew my neighbor over like a moth to a flame!

Thank you for the welcome! I have lurking for a long time and finally decided to jump in.

Happy Belated Birthday to you too :}

[hippywife]

17. There is one smell that is very

provocative in our house. That is the smell of anise when I make pizzelle. For some reason, these cookies were relegated to the category of Christmas cookies in our family. Probably because they can be very time consuming to make. Whenever I make them, the smell lingers for nearly a week and we always say, "It smells like Christmas in here." whenever we come home and catch that aroma as soon as we open the door.

[eleny]

19. I was just thinking about how the air smells near the coast of Maryland

Delmarva, actually. It's like fresh crabs. Last time we were there was in the 1990s and I still remember it.

That and the air as you near the west coast north of San Fran. It's like sweet pine mixed with salty air.

Both are pure heaven to me. But garlic in a kitchen? I want to run over and toss some in hot olive oil! Bliss.

[badgerpup]

21. When I do pot roast in the oven...

...I use a mixture of chianti wine, balsamic vinegar, a dash of L&P Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, rosemary, summer savory and fresh-ground black pepper.

Er...that's along with the meat and the taters, carrots, onions, and celery...

Very distinctive, aromatic blend and it's one of the scents I subconciously identify as "HOME".

[Dover]

22. Ahhhh....food aroma therapy!

Indeed. Something so warm, comforting and nourishing about it.

My niece walked into our house on a recent visit, took a deep breath and exclaimed, "It always smells like chicken soup and home here". One of the nicest compliments ever.

There was nothing cooking at the time.