Smells that make me smile

When I was in middle school my mother went back to work outside the home. My younger sister was in school a full day and we were never home without her. One day after school the selfish child in me complained that because she was working I felt neglected. Of course I was not neglected, but even at 11 years old, I knew how to push my mother's guilty buttons. She asked why? What was I missing? And I told her that when I came home from school she used to be wearing a house-dress and the kitchen always smelled like something wonderful cooking. Now she was dressed like a business woman and because she got home only minutes before I did, there were no smells coming from the kitchen yet.

Well, it took only one day for that to change. The next day I came home and found her out of her business clothes and in a house-dress and the kitchen smelled like cookies. Don't ask me how she managed to do that so quickly, but she always had a way with magic. Anyhow, I managed to continue complaining. I didn't want the house to smell like cookies, I wanted onions and garlic sauteing wafting through the air. From then on, that's what I got.

So, why do I tell this long winded anecdote? Well, this morning I am making bacon. And, I am remembering that there is nothing better than the smell of bacon in the air, except for the smell of onions and garlic sauteing. Sure I eat sweets, though not as often as my weight would have you think. But, I far prefer the smell and taste of savory foods. Give me the smell of carbonized beef coming from the exhaust fans of a local steak place or even fast food place over the smell of any bakery.

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