Used for perfume, for aromatherapy, and to entice us to eat desserts, it’s mildly addictive because it increases adrenaline. Our ancestors thought it was an aphrodisiac and that it cured impotence, making it our first Viagra.

Sometimes, I dab on vanilla extract as a perfume. Isn’t that what Scarlet O’Hara used to entice Rhett Butler?

8

Allie

Hanukkah Fruit Candies

1 cup each raisins, dates, and prunes

1 cup walnuts or pecans

1/2 cup crystallized ginger

Confectioners’ sugar sprinkled on a plate or bowl (Start with 1/2 cup and add more as needed.)

Combine the fruits, nuts, and ginger in a food processor until a paste is formed. With dampened hands, form into walnut-size balls and roll in the confectioners’ sugar.

Mahyoosa

1 pound pitted dates

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 cup chopped mixed nuts (such as almonds and cashews)

Combine the dates and butter in a food processor and pulse until the fruit is mashed and resembles a paste. Set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the ghee. As it melts, sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until it turns light brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the cardamom and date paste. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is fully combined. Mix in the nuts.

Remove from the heat and let stand until cool enough to handle. Using your hands, pinch off 1 tablespoon-size pieces and roll them into balls. Place in paper muffin cups.

In an airtight container, the cookies will keep for several weeks. Makes 36

WHEN ALLIE STANDS TO get her bags, Taylor jumps up, her gauzy scarf floating behind her. “I’ll help.” She marches off. The two shopping bags can easily be carried by one person, but Taylor carries one.

There’s something different in the relationship between them. Why didn’t I see this before? Taylor seems to be inseparable from Allie even for the time it takes for Allie to get her cookies. Could Taylor be in love with Allie? That seems crazy. Does Taylor even realize it? Is it just Taylor’s feelings of admiration and gratitude that account for the consistent doting and the melting gaze? But that isn’t consistent with Allie, who is pretty clear about how much she likes men. Allie seems oblivious, but she is not an oblivious person. Quite the contrary. She spots slight cues from people and fits them like pieces of a puzzle to assemble a complete picture. Allie doesn’t interpret, unless you ask. She never pries but is simply supremely interested, always fascinated by everything. And everyone. She is a consummate therapist who loves people but is disinterested in the power or the use of the professional relationship as a defense against an intimate one.