Herbal Apothecary: Stovetop Potpourri

Fish is healthy. It's also sometimes smelly. While I enjoyed our fish dinner last night, I wasn't too keen on the lingering fishy smell I woke up to this morning.

Sigh. It happens to the best of us, right?

It's way too cold to open a window to take care of it, so I went for a quick, homemade air freshener instead. Behold my improvised potpourri:


This couldn't be easier: cut up some citrus (I had a navel orange and a lemon we had previously zested, languishing in the fridge), add some spices (I used whole cloves, a cinnamon stick, some cardamom pods, and a healthy dash of nutmeg, but could easily have added rosewater, dried lavender, or rosemary instead for a more spring-time aroma). As it is still winter, this was just the thing.

The only other step is to cover the fruit and herbs with water and summer on the stove. As the steam rises, it makes your house smell delicious! Totally got rid of our lingering fish smell, and made the kids hungry to boot. If the water boils away, just add more — I kept this going all morning.

Tasty bonus: Since this air freshener is literally good enough to eat, you might consider stealing a citrusy cinnamon stick from the pot before you compost the remains of the potpourri. You can get a lovely afternoon cup of tea by steeping that cinnamon stick along with your regular tea (just be sure to take it out when you take out the tea bag). Add a pinch of nutmeg, a few drops of vanilla, and some milk, then curl up and enjoy!

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