Holiday scent?

[steffi]

I'd love to have our home smelling all nice for the holidays (hey, year round wouldn't be bad either!!) and I was wondering if anyone has a recipe they could share?

Maybe something that could simmer on the stove? Or something I could mist? Anything?

I have used that Glade/Napalm stuff in the past, and tho it smelled wonderful, I'm not sure I'd be too keen on using it again.

I'd love to hear your ideas (and we'll keep them all a sceret from Martha Stewart!!)

[LaLa]

Mmmm..My brother makes a BIG batch of homemade Chai tea, and the house always smells GREAT!

I don't have the recipe here. I would think anything spicy would be nice on the stove. Nutmeg, ginger, cinimon, clove.
Maybe simmer some apple cider with these spices added, then it will smell good and you can drink it!

[clewal]

I pour some vanilla in a pot and add quite a bit of water to it and set on the stove to simmer. Sometimes I add some lemon or orange peel to it. Makes the whole house smell great. Just make sure you watch the water level and add more as needed.

[namama]

i usually try a pot of spiced cider or just simmer oranges and spices in a pan on the stove. the cider is great for company, because then you have a drink to offer and nothing goes to waste --or mulled wine is a great scent too.

I made a spray bottle of essential oils mixed with water and use it to freshen the air. works like a charm too...

[Kelakemama]

Essential oils are great for this. I have a diffuser that I use for vanillia, cedar, patchouli, myhrr. Mix your own to see what you like.

Bake cookies, leave them to cool while you go shopping, then come home to a wonderful smelling home. I had to stop doing this because it was bad for my waistline and my bank account! Now I just use the oils!

[berglar]

I often find that my house smells like whatever I cooked last (garlic, fish, etc.) when I'm having someone over. My trick is to put an inch or two of water in a small saucepan, add half a cinnamon stick, whole cloves, whole all-spice, lemon slices (or just peels), oranges, few drops of vanilla... one of these by itself, or any combination is nice, and it only takes a few minutes of simmering for the whole house to smell great!

Once I felt that my husband's work clothes heaped up in the bedroom were just too smelly, even after I took them downstairs. I simmered up a batch of the above, and then took the steaming pan in the bedroom and set it on a coaster. I think I dreamt of food that night...

[bunny's mama]

this is a more high-end option, but i was in the mall the other week and the smell at williams-sonoma just pulled me right in. they said it was their own mulling spices boiling, wow. it was fantastic.

[rainsmom]

chai recipe

anyone have a recipe for chai tea>?

[twinkletoes]

chai recipe

hi rainsmom, this is my favorite version (quantities are vague)

whatever your desired end volume of chai is, make ~1/3 of that be water, ~2/3 be milk

bring the water to a boil in a saucepan then add spices
1 tsp cardamom seeds (if whole pods then crack them open)
a few whole black peppercorns
a few more whole cloves
2-3 thin slices of gingerroot
a small stick of cinnamon bark
a bit of star anise (it's strong)

boil it all up and let it simmer until it's very fragrant, esp. the cardamom. add black teabags (orange pekoe's good) and simmer those until it's VERY strong.

still boiling away add your 2/3's milk (full-fat goatsmilk is the best, 2% cowsmilk so yummy, soymilk's divine, but skim?yeech)

and bring the milk/chai to a full boil (the milk will turn sweeter and be easier to digest)

take it off the heat and add more sugar than is responsible (golden turbinado-style) then strain it into you teapot and share share share!

you'll soon have your own favorite version, it's so yummy!