smells always have such strong associations with memory.  smell is really taste, you cannot taste if you cannot smell.  here i am in my kitchen tonight, making a carrot rice pudding, a pakistani recipe.  and it calls for cardomom, which i love.  over the years, whenever i cook or bake with cardamom, i get such a familar feeling that i’ve never been able to pinpoint.  until tonight.  cardamom reminds me of fruit loops.