What's That Smell?

It's a scientific fact that certain smells, scents, or odors can trigger responses in the human brain. Smells are a very powerful tool used against us powerless humans. It can take us back to a very memorable moment, good or bad. Provided our olfactory system works correctly, I'm sure we all have familiar scents that immediately transport us to a certain time, and place, where we initially encountered such pleasurable aromas. Most of my favorites came from my grandparent's kitchen. Regardless if anything was cooking, there was a constant faint lingering of garlic. You sensed it the very moment you walked in the front door. Another delightful aroma actually comes from two different sources - the smell of roasting peppers! As a youngster, we occasionally stopped by grandma & grandpa's house for Sunday dinner ( 3 out of 4 Sundays a month ). Summer time meant the whole family was going to occasionally be rewarded with the combination of sazitsa and peppers! The smell of Grandma roasting the peppers in the oven was divine, and if you timed it just right, she frequently had to open the broiler to turn them, and you would catch a blast of the roasted happiness going on there. The second time happened in New Mexico. I happened to be visiting Dad during the month of Sept./Oct., which happens to be chile harvest season. I recall, standing at a farmer's market, waiting in line to purchase half a bushel of roasted green chiles, and the constant waft of the peppers tumbling in the roaster and giving off their lovely fragrance. I can picture it like it happened yesterday. So this evening, I found myself standing at the BBQ grill, carrying on the family ritual of roasting the last harvest of green peppers from a friend's garden, and just thoroughly enjoying the experience, even though I was actually working. Meanwhile, my wife is inside preparing dinner. Moments earlier, she just pulled fresh baked homemade dinner rolls out of the oven ( can you smell it? ), followed by the browning of some bacon and garlic, that was eventually going to accompany some type of tomato product, to thus become tomato gravy over rice. Yeah baby! The aroma therapy was a nice way to wind down from the day.