Thank you, Annie, for that tip ... my kid loves almond-cookie, so I will get the almond extract. Thank you, Cloud_Swift, for the info. on Spice House to save money. Thank you, pkramer, for that tip on Rosemary indoor. It died on me last winter. I grew up near Grand Rapids MI. Now I'm in Chicago's suburb, zone 5a, much colder than zone 5b in MI. What I grew in the summer was probably Russian Tarragon ... no smell whatsoever. The right thyme also makes a big difference ... so I make sure that pinch off a leaf to sniff before buying the herb. I'm lucky to have a sage brush that survived zone 5a winters for the past decade. I sun-dried the sage leaves in the fall ... great flavor, no sage-spice can beat. One year I used Organic Spice's Hunter Herbes de Province, that gave good flavor to all my soups. Then I bought some cheap brand recently, and it stank up my entire pot. I bought "Imitation Vanilla" last year, and it had a weird & odd chemical smell, so I threw the whole bottle away. The real vanilla is what matters. A friend gave me Organic Extra virgin Coconut oil Nutiva brand. I used 2 tablespoon of that in making granola. The fresh coconut smell perfumed the entire house, and the granola was absolutely delicious. In contrast, the coconut milk I bought from Trader's Joe, or Oriental Market has this "soapy" flavor from stale coconut, or else it's so loaded with sulfites or potassium sorbate(chemical preservatives) ... that I break out in rash. I quit using coconut milk a long time ago ... so glad to find Nutiva's extra-virgin coconut oil with the most intense, delightful fresh coconut essence. This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Fri, Jan 10, 14 at 23:33

Terri, Lars' Algerian chicken is very, very good. It can be served hot or at room temperature, I served it at room temp for the Michigan Run and there was none left. I bought sumac especially for that recipe and it was well worth it. I did mine in the oven, the instructions for that are at the end of the recipe. Algerian Chicken 1 whole chicken 4 cloves of garlic 1-1/2 tbsp Kosher salt 1 teaspoon of sumac 1/2 teaspoon of sesame seeds 1/2 tsp coriander seeds 1/2 tsp fenugreek 3/4 tsp cumin 3 tablespoons of butter, room temperature 1 tbsp minced Thai basil (or 1/2 tsp fennel) 2 lemons 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Freshly ground black pepper extra herbs, 1 tsp each minced fresh oregano and basil, optional 4-5 sprigs of thyme Place the chicken in a roasting pan with a rack. Line bottom of pan with aluminum foil for easier clean up. Slide your fingers under the breasts to separate the skin from the meat, turn the chicken over and do the same with the thighs. Mash the garlic with 1-1/2 tablespoons of salt in a mortar and pestle or finely chop the garlic and incorporate the salt into it with the side of your knife or back of a spoon. Add the sumac, sesame seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, and cumin and mix to pulverize the seeds. Add butter and basil and combine to mix. Tuck pieces of the butter into the "pockets" under the skin. Squeeze the juice of one lemon allover the chicken, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle freshly ground black pepper. Season the cavity with pepper and tuck in the lemon halves and more herbs into the cavity if desired. Place the chicken on the barbeque and cover, leaving vents fully open to maintain heat. Baste the chicken every 15 minutes alternating water (spritz) and pan drippings. Midway through cooking turn the chicken 90° or 180°, depending on how uneven the heat is. Continue frequent basting. The cooking time for a 3-1/2 pound bird is about 1-1/2 hours, depending on how hot your fire is. Cook to an internal temperature of 160°, measured in the thigh. Let rest covered about 30 minutes before carving. Squeeze fresh lemon juice into the roasting juices, and pour into a gravy boat. Add salt, if needed. Serve with roasted potatoes, green salad, and French or Italian bread. *If roasting in oven, start oven at 450° for at least 20 minutes, and you can reduce it to 350° for the remainder of the roasting time. (based on recipe from Chef Farid Zadi) Annie

parma, you would love Laura Mercier's almond and coconut product line, I have the hand creme ; I also love Partylite's coconut cove tealights and votives. I too adore a coconut scent although I don't eat it. A young child coming in from playing outside in the summer, their hair smells of fresh dirt and sun , a "good" stink, like someone said about sniffing dog paws. I always have to smell products before I decide if I want to use them, even the most miraculous face cream has to have a smell appealing to me. I love spa smells, eucalyptus always seems to be in the background; Aveda has a candle called Pure and it captures the spa smell.

I just put my user name in search and it came back "There were no matches". I just posted last week or the week before about favorite spice or herb smell. Sniff, I am history, gone, poof, vanished never existed. So long cruel world. Maybe I am being a little over dramatic! LOL Hope they get KT fixed I sometimes don't get to check as many of the post as I would like and check in the next day. Kittywhiskers