The Scented Kitchen: A Little Louisiana in the Kitchen - Jambalaya & Peaceful, Easy Feeling™

Recently it was our turn to host an out-of-town speaker after Sunday services. Our group has about 23 people, and when we have one of these dinners, someone gets to choose the theme. It’s always fun because you get a little glimpse into that person’s tastes—and sometimes their history.

This time the theme was Cajun.

The person choosing the menu had been raised in Louisiana by her Cajun father, so before long we were tossing around ideas: étouffée, red beans and rice, jambalaya, potatoes and corn, cornbread with honey and butter, fresh vegetables, salad and, of course, desserts.

I signed up for more than one dish, which meant Sunday morning was going to involve some serious cooking. Before I chopped the first pepper or heated the first pan, though, I did something I often do when I know I have a busy morning ahead—I set the mood in my kitchen.

A Calmer Start to a Busy Kitchen

I brought out my Belle Aroma® Fleur Aromatique™ Fragrance Diffuser and chose Peaceful, Easy Feeling™, one of the Timeless Notes Signature Essential Oil Blends. Its soft floral and earthy fragrance seemed just right for a morning of cooking.

The Fleur Aromatique is a passive diffuser, so there are no cords, flames or electricity involved. My set came with three handcrafted sola wood flowers and three Signature Blends: Peaceful, Easy Feeling, Walking on Sunshine®, with its bright citrus character, and On Eagles’ Wings®, with its refreshing peppermint and almond fragrance.

The Timeless Notes essential oils are pure oils without carriers or synthetic additions.

There’s something about fragrance that can completely change the feel of a room. Instead of looking at my long list of things to cook and wondering, Where do I even start? my kitchen felt like a place where I wanted to spend the morning.

And since I was making Cajun food, I decided to do a little exploring before the real cooking began.

Cajun or Creole?

I’ll admit it—I had never really thought much about the difference between Cajun and Creole cooking.

What I found especially interesting is that both Cajun and Creole traditions have deep French roots. Cajun culture developed largely from French-speaking Acadians who eventually settled in Louisiana, while Creole cuisine grew from a blend of influences that included French culinary traditions along with Spanish, African and Caribbean influences.

Maybe that French connection is one reason this particular menu theme felt so fitting. Belle Aroma itself draws inspiration from the beauty and romance associated with French fragrance traditions, so there was a lovely connection between the food simmering on my stove and the fragrance gently filling my kitchen.

Both Cajun and Creole cooking also make generous use of the famous “holy trinity” of onion, celery and green bell pepper. While the two cuisines share many ingredients and techniques, Cajun cooking is often associated with rustic, deeply seasoned dishes, while Creole cooking reflects its broader mixture of cultural influences and frequently includes tomatoes.

Ironically, I had chosen Peaceful, Easy Feeling for its floral, earthy fragrance before doing any of this research. Somehow, its warm, earthy character seemed even more fitting once I started cooking.

Jambalaya It Is

My contribution was jambalaya, along with red beans and rice and a very sweet cornbread.

Normally I prefer savory cornbread, but with the spice and richness of the other dishes, I wanted something sweet to balance everything out.

The jambalaya recipe I started with was one I found on Pinterest, attributed to Justin Wilson. As usual, I made it my own as I cooked.

Jambalaya

Serves approximately 8

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups parboiled rice
• ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large green bell peppers, chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 pounds andouille sausage, sliced into rounds
• 2 pounds chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
• ½ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup diced tomatoes, fresh or canned
• 1–2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, to taste (I used a scant teaspoon)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 3 bunches green onions, chopped
• 1 generous bunch fresh parsley, chopped

Let’s Cook

Do yourself a favor and prep everything first. Chop the vegetables, slice the sausage and have the chicken and shrimp ready. Once you begin cooking, everything moves much more smoothly.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, bell peppers and onion and sauté until the onion becomes translucent and fragrant.

Add the andouille sausage and cook until it begins to brown. Follow with the chicken, allowing the pieces to develop a little color.

Stir in the diced tomatoes—I used fresh tomatoes and left the skins on—then add the cayenne and smoked paprika. Give everything a good stir so those flavors begin to mingle.

Pour in the chicken broth and water and bring the mixture to a boil.

Add the parboiled rice, stir well, reduce the heat to low and cover. Let it simmer gently, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom. Parboiled rice works especially well here because it holds its texture during the long simmer.

Add the shrimp toward the end of the cooking time and cook only until they turn pink. Adding them too soon can make them tough.

Finish with plenty of chopped green onion and fresh parsley, give everything one final stir and serve it hot.

Bring the Experience Home

By the time everything was ready, the kitchen smelled wonderful—from the jambalaya simmering on the stove to the subtle fragrance of Peaceful, Easy Feeling in the background.

That is one of the things I enjoy most about time spent in the kitchen. Cooking isn’t only about what ends up on the plate. It’s the chopping and stirring, the conversations that happen around the counter, the fragrance in the room and the memories we make while feeding people we care about.

The Belle Aroma® Fleur Aromatique™ Fragrance Diffuser fits beautifully into that kind of kitchen. Because it’s passive, there’s no flame, heat or electricity required. And when the oil is added to the handcrafted sola wood flower, the flower itself becomes part of the décor while gently releasing fragrance into the room.

I also appreciate that recyclable and compostable materials are incorporated into the Fleur Aromatique’s design. I like knowing that something I use to bring fragrance into my home has been thoughtfully designed, too.

Whether your kitchen is preparing jambalaya for a crowd or dinner for two, sometimes a favorite fragrance is all it takes to make an ordinary cooking day feel a little more special.

Set the mood before you start cooking, choose the Signature Blend that fits your day, and bring a little fragrance into your kitchen.

Claire Beaumont for The Gift of Scent®