I haven't baked yeast bread for many, many years, but did this weekend. I just couldn't believe how wonderful my house smelled for days! Plus, the bread was great, too.

We had a 45min loud and cracking thunderstorm with a dark sky and lightning and heavy rain. Sunny just before and sunny after...warm enough for some windows open. Its been some time with that scent in the air.

You must be in the Valley to have such bad allergies now. I purposely live close to the beach where the pollen count is much lower, due to ocean breezes. I had the worst allergies in Costa Rica, and I went in the dry season, but it still rained every other day. I am careful not to plant flowers in my yard that I am allergic to, such as Oriental Lilies, Chrysanthemums, daisies, jasmine, etc. We also removed most of the roses from the yards, although they still try to come back.

I started a thread not too long ago about invasive scents and discovered that the dish soap I was using was over-scented and interfered with my appreciating other aromas.

I think I use raw onions more often than sautéed ones, but I often sauté garlic and like the way that smells. I also like the smell of bread, but I only bake that once a week. When I think about it, most of what I cook does not produce overwhelming aromas.

Oh, no! Not the S.F. Valley. I'd die! I'm just allergic all the time, and even more so when the rain brings out timely pollen (right for March), out of season pollen (from everything that's blooming early due to the spells of heat) and all the molds that come out in the damp, not to mention the ones that come in on the sea air.

Rob, thanks for the beautiful story! And for confirming that the smeller smells better after a reboot. :) I knew a woman who had lost her sense of smell in a car accident, and became a very perfunctory eater. So glad you had such a good outcome!

Sauted bacon, onions, and thyme - Fresh bread - pasta sauce - curry - roast turkey and dressing - pumpkin pie - smoked anything - lemon chicken or fish/seafood - again, bacon anything - garlic anything - oh, yeah and of course cinnamon buns, sticky buns, anything cinnamon! There are more but these are the best.

I was cleaning my half thawed garden this week - both the smell of plain old dirt and the smells of mint, bee balm and lemon thyme were lovely. I too tend to be allergic and am recovering from a cold - so some of my enjoyment was the return of a functioning nose. Also a thawed a batch of pesto that was very fragrant - ended up making back to back batches of pasta with pesto. Yum.

Plllog, I'm glad your smeller is in operational mode.

Rob, I'm so thankful you were not in that 1%.

Here's to the sweet smell of success *clink*

For me, there are many food fragrances that send me. Where? I don't know. But, I tend to lose myself in most of the aforementioned. And in the following:

Freshly-ground coffee; Ceylon cinnamon; Lavender; freshly-baked bread; citrus fruits; my lemon garlic chicken. All, pure ecstasy.

Sol

Thanks Sol! You have no idea.

Your "Ceylon cinnamon" reminded me. Ground cardamom. My son and I sniff the bottle and that's good enough. It sends me back to the earthy California redwood forests. How? I dunno, but Iove it. He's never been and still loves to sniff it. It's our favorite one to sniff. Good on dirt bombs too.

Pll, maybe you're pregnant! :P

(Someone had to say it!)

ROTFLOL!!!! Fo, that would be something indeed!

Hm. Neither confirmed nor denied.

;)

I've got the spring time wachoos....and my smeller is overly sensitive...Today I smelled too much perfume on someone....the smell of the palms for Palm Sunday, the smell of wet spring earth....no flowers to smell yet.
And this evening I had some friends over for cheese and wine and popped a bag of microwave popcorn....And still that smell lingers in the microwave!

Heavens, no!

Linda, what's a wachoo? Oh! I was thinking plant, but maybe it's a sneeze?

I enjoy the smell of braising most anything. My absolute favorite is my stuffed cabbage.

The smell of onions garlic and peppers sauteing in the pan is intoxicating.

Welcome back to the land of the sniffers.

bacon. garlic & rosemary on anything. the beginnings of sausage & sage stuffing. Now, I'm hungry.

I love the smell of sauteing onions. Sometimes when I don't know what I'm going to cook, I start some onions sauteing while I rummage around the pantry and fridge. (I have to set a timer so I don't get distracted... )

Rob, I'm sure glad you got your sniff back, that would be awful.

There are so many smells I enjoy. Fresh hay, the lawn when it's mowed, I can bury my nose in a warm horse and love the smell. Puppies and suntan lotion at the beach and that's before I get to food! Bacon cooking and bread baking, onions and garlic both raw and when they are cooking. Brisket in the smoker or, oh heck, anything in the smoker! Cinnamon rolls and brioche and molasses cookies, roasting turkey and steak on the grill and maple syrup on pancakes, I love 'em all. I even like some I shouldn't like, things like the mix of dirt and sweat and animals in the barns at the county fair, because they remind me of something else.

I would definitely miss my sense of smell, so I'm glad you all got yours back.

Annie

And Puppy breath and baby necks!!

I have to laugh Lindac. Puppy breath is the very first thing that comes to mind when I think of favorite smells. Also fresh plowed earth, the air when a summer shower is on the way, fresh mowed grass, and especially fresh cut clover!

But you asked about favorite food fragrances. Apple pie, or oatmeal cookies, or yeasty bread baking. Bacon frying, a good beef roast in the oven. My mother used to make her own version of a German dish that involved beef round steak, bacon and onions. Absolutely heavenly aroma! !

Oh, must not forget, almond extract! I love LOVE that fragrance! !

Rusty