The Scents of Christmas

When I first married many years ago, my husband and I were assigned to Nicaragua in Central America. I was young so it was very exciting. The country was beautiful and the weather was very mild. As it approached the holidays, I began missing the cold weather, Christmas trees, shopping, the hustle and bustle of the holidays. In ohter words, I was homesick. It is very difficult to decorate a palm tree! I thought long and hard about how I could create my own special holiday without a lot of the things I would usually use.  One of things I missed was the smell of cinnamon. I decided to make my house smell like Christmas even if it would not look like a traditional American Christmas. Here is my recipe for a simmering potpourri.

Ingredients:

1 orange

1 lemon

1 bay leaf

3 cinnamon sticks

1/4 cup whole cloves

Cut the lemon and orange into pieces and place in a saucepan. Cover with a generous amount of water. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Check water occasionally and replace water as needed. In no time, your house will smell like Christmas even if you are on the equator!

Merry Christmas!

Victoria