Fall is here. The air is crispy, the leaves are falling. Struck with Fall Mood, the other day I made chicken soup and ended up unintentionally torturing my vegetarian husband with the aroma. So I wanted to think up some things that would make the house smell good that aren’t iffy chemicals from a can and wouldn’t have him craving things he can’t have. Then today re-nest posted their 5 Simmer Pots To Make Your Home Smell Like Fall and I decided to do a little roundup.

• Tip Nut has the recipes listed on re-nest plus a few more
• easy homemade recipes has an edible recipe you can serve to guests if they like the smell as well as a nice floral recipe
• curbly has some good basics
• cooks.com has a recipe you can make in bulk and use straight from the freezer

It’s so easy. Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the ingredients from your favorite recipe, boil for a few minutes, then turn the heat down to simmer all day. Top up water as needed. Compost what’s left when the water’s gone. Very Important: Don’t forget and leave it on the stove.

I’m currently working up some of my own recipes:

“A Visit to the Year Round Christmas Store In July” which consists of a whole lot of cinnamon and cloves, and just a hint of grapefruit or strawberry for summery flare.

For “I Had a Little Too Much to Drink While Making Italian Food” you’ll need a little (a lot) of leftover stale or cooking wine, basil (that desperately needs picking), oregano (I always have too much) and lemon peels I have hanging around (usually a lot) while I make some parmesan crisps.

And maybe my favorite new any-time recipe “I’m-Not-Old-I’m-Just-More-Mellow Hippie.” Get your groove on with a few drops of patchouli essential oil, cloves, sliced ginger root, a couple of old tea bags (preferably herbal), some mint, and something with a little menthol like an herbal cough drop. Note: burning incense simultaneously might be overkill.

Have fun, mix it up, and share what you come up with!