The Mighty Bay Leaf

This post isn't so much a recipe as it is an appreciation of that most humble of ingredients, the bay leaf. That shelf inhabitant that everyone has, and every recipe calls for, but few can guess what it's good for besides exercising the eyes once it's time to fish them out.

However, this year I've come to love the bay leaf as an ingredient of faith. I can't always pick out its flavor but I trust that it's doing something. This might make me a rube, but there are plenty of other things that do too, so no biggie.

Anyway, if you're skeptical or curious as to what exactly a bay leaf or two can do, throw one or two or twelve in the water next time you're boiling pasta, and eat a few plain noodles before dressing them up further. Subtle, but delicious.