Hellebores are calling me outside to the healing energy of the garden this time of year. Multiple times a day I’m out there crouching down, lifting their nodding blooms to peek at the unique and spectacular detail inside each one.

After two misty spritzes—pssht pssht—into the kitchen air from the tiny amber bottle in my hand, Mike’s eyes widened with surprise as he said “Oh wow, you got it. It’s rain. And soil. Dirt. But fresh and nice. That’s. It. How did you do that!?”

Joy for cooking and baking is finally coming home to me after packing up and leaving a while ago. The past few months, I’ve made up some lovely recipes including this Sweet Potato Snacking Cake.

I don’t know what it is about certain flavors and aromas, but if it’s painfully spicy, floral, or giving “campfire smoke” in any way, I want spray it on myself or eat it.