Spaghetti sauce with garlic and Parmesan cheese.
Garlic frying in butter
Coffee
Fresh baked bread
Smoked pork shank braising in a pot of red beans, with onions, garlic and peppers
Poblano chiles charring on the stovetop
Just about any kind of Indian cooking
Before I read the replies I’ll say:
freshly baked bread.
My mom used to make stock from the turkey carcass the day after Thanksgiving. It would simmer all day, filling the house, and then that night she’d throw in some chopped carrots, celery, noodles, and salt and pepper, and we’d have it for dinner. It was the thing I was most looking forward to the first time I came home from college.
Chaunk (tempering spices in ghee)
Sautéed onions and garlic, bacon, bacon and onions, onions and bell peppers. Anything with onions, really.
I’ll go with the subtle aroma of freshly chopped parsley coming off the cutting board. An absolutely sublime smell that not even the people who eat the final product get to enjoy.
I’ll go you one slightly better - freshly chopped parsley that you just picked from your garden! It is lovely.
Cheesesteaks. Combination of beef and onions being cooked on the flattop (the cheese and bread don’t really add to the aroma).
Nobody mentioned popcorn yet?
I have a black thumb, but that does sound delightful.