A couple of weeks ago, there was an unfortunate accidental popcorn burning incident in our kitchen. If you’re familiar with the smell of burnt popcorn, you know how unfortunate that can be. Not only did it stink up the house, but it we had to clean out the entire cabinet that houses the microwave and clean everything the burnt popcorn smoke wafted through. I even had to buy new air filters for our Dyson air purifier that we moved from the studio to the kitchen to help clear out the smoke. The fortunate thing is that the weather was beautiful, so we opened all of the windows and let fresh air blow through the house for a couple of days. There was still a tinge of the burnt smell lingering, though, so I decided to make a simmer pot. I have always made simmer pots in the fall or winter (You can find my simple fall recipe HERE), so I had to give some thought to what might be good ingredients for a late spring or summer simmer pot recipe. Here is what I came up with…
I sliced up a fresh lemon and cut some fresh lavender and fresh rosemary from the garden. If you don’t have these herbs in your garden, this is a great time to plant them, or you can usually buy sprigs from the grocery store or farmer’s market. I tested a recipe with some dried lavender buds, and that worked as well, but the buds float and sit at the top, so you don’t want to add too much. These elements on their own made a nice summer simmer pot, but I wanted to boost the scent just a bit more, so I added some essential oil I had on hand. I added a few drops of lavender oil…
…and a few drops of Citrus Fresh, but lemon oil would work well, too. I didn’t have rosemary oil in my essential oil stash, but you could swap out the lemon and/or lavender and replace it with rosemary, or you could try all three together. The balance of the scents is up to you, but these three play nicely together and evoke summer.
Use a high-sided pot so the water evaporates more slowly. I’m using a 2-quart sauce pot.
Fill the pot with water and put it on the stove on low heat. Because I am forgetful and get engrossed in what I’m doing, I set a timer for every 30 minutes so I remember to check on it. You don’t want to let the water completely evaporate, or it will start burning. If you don’t want to mess with the stovetop, you could also use a crockpot for this summer simmer pot.
Between fresh air and the summer simmer pot, we had the house smelling fresh and clean again.
I didn’t use specific measurements, but here is a recipe if it’s helpful for you when making your own summer simmer pot…
Lavender & Lemon Summer Simmer Pot
Equipment
- 1 pot (A crockpot could be used instead of a pot and stovetop.)
Ingredients
- 1 fresh lemon, sliced
- sprigs of fresh lavender
- sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 4-5 drops citrus or lemon essential oil
- 4-5 drops lavender essential oil
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a pot and fill with water, full covering ingredients. Simmer on low for a few hours, adding more water if necessary.
Notes
5 Responses
I use a 2 qt crockpot for simmering. I put the fruit, peels, fresh or dried herbs and spices or essential oils in the crockpot while the water comes to a simmer on the stove. Turn the crockpot on low and add the water. No need to check the water level for several hours. When I peel apples, oranges and lemons, I store the peels in separate zipper bags in the freezer so I always have them on hand.
Setting out plain white vinegar in a wide shallow bowl for 24 hours works wonders for all kinds of cooking odors.
I burned popcorn also this week. I have an electric diffuser that I use orange oil, or lavender, or a spring fragrance from a company in Arkansas. It takes forever to get that smell out.
Thank you for your recipe.
Your home is always so beautiful.
I have a glass simmer pot from Amazon that looks pretty with all the ingredients simmering together. I found a ton of recipes on Pinterest. I did lime rosemary and vanilla the other day!
We had the popcorn burning in the microwave once and I can attest that you are right about that terrible smell that seems to permeate everything. It took a lot to get rid of the smell in the house but we had a small microwave at the time and I gave up on it. I tried everything I could think of and nothing took the smell out. I finally tossed it and bought another one.