Thanks for the guidance. I am still a steak eater but I enjoy breaks from beef too.
Don’t get me wrong l’m not a vegan. I like meat! But beans/legumes have a special place in my repertoire. It’s red light food.
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Me too. I forget how much I enjoy black beans on their own.
Assuming you have a lot of beans in tasty liquid now all you need is some yellow rice to put it over!
(I cheated today and got yellow rice and saucy pinto beans from the dominican place i love- it’s an unholy crapton and stupid cheap. )
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You are reading my mind!
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LOL, I just had to say this article cracked me up. I’m definitely on the “not sure about bay leaf” side, but I will usually add them in when the recipe calls for it. I just don’t know if it might change the dish, even though I’m hard pressed to describe its scent or taste. I always use fresh from the store too, but I know those pre-packaged versions have differing quality.
The Indian Bay Leaves (Tej Patta) are from a Tree that is in the Cinnamon Genus and actually taste quite different from the Laurel Nobilis Leaves of the Mediterranean.
I think if you have fresher dried Leaves you would be able to tell the difference without a problem.
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Then, the bay leaves I have are not from an Indian market. The dry bay I have been referring to has a grassy, citrus scent.
I was replying to Boogiebaby but you may have gotten Med. Bay Leaves at an Indian Grocery. You can tell by the way the Veins run in the Leaves. Tej Patta has Veins that run long ways.
Laural Noblis
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Yup. I have both - the vertical veins are obvious in tej patta which is usually confusingly translated as bay leaves. Though they don’t smell or taste of cinnamon or cloves to me 
My mother in law makes beef stew with a ton of bay leaves, not a few, not a handful, more like 40-50. While sorta a pain at the end to take em out not accidentally eat one, it is super delicious and gives a special flavor to the soup/stew that isn’t heavily spiced at all. Prob like 4 ingredients in the whole pot, beef, carrots, bay leaves, water, maybe a grated onion (maybe not). That’s it. She removes the bay leaves and adds frozen peas for service and has mashed potato on side. I add a lot more to my stew but hers does have a special flavor too. Are there any other dishes you make that have such as strong punch from bay leaves? And yes, looking up here these are laural noblis!
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Some Pinoy Chicken Adobo recipes have a lot of Bay Leaves in them.
Many Spanish Escabeche recipes call for a lot of Bay
I have seen recipes for making Digestives with Bay as the main flavor with Neutral Spirit and Sugar
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I use bay leaves in my carnitas. After a long braise and then a shorter period at higher temp to brown, I have always removed them.
But I have a new method where I remove the pork, and nuke the leftover ingredients (which is mostly rendered pork fat, garlic, spices, and some juice) in my vitamix. I then add it back to the pork while shredding it in my mixer, and then fry it up in CI skillet.
Would there be any flavor enhancement in leaving the bay leaves in? Or is that not a good idea?
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Sounds great. I was really enjoying the flavor last night in the stew. I would remove the bay leaves before blending. I find the good stuff is released and don’t like eating em.
There are bay leaves labeled Turkish bay leaves and California bay leaves as well.
But maybe someone already said that. It’s from the Kenji article.
“The California bay leaves tend to have a much stronger menthol flavor. They have a little bit more of that eucalyptus note. In general, they’re a little more one-dimensional than the Turkish bay leaves.”
The Turkish bay leaves are milder, more nuanced and a little bit sweeter in flavor"
And
“Most recipes call for Turkish bay leaves. If you only have California bay leaves, I would start by using a quarter to half the amount.”
Turkish bay leaves are Laurel noblis (mentioned above).
I just discovered this article on Serious Eats so maybe I’ll leave them in next time as I’m confident the vitamix can seriously nuke them.
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Myrtlewood leaves are also used like bay leaves, though much stronger. I have used them when out of bay leaves.
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I have a California bay tree in my backyard. The leaves taste oddly like bubble gum.
I like to light it and let it smolder. The smell of it burning is lovely. Wish they made bay leaf incense.
My beans need bay leaf.
I like the " no discernable flavor but notice it missing" thing.
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That sounds amazing! I learned to make roasted petit potatoes with a bay leaf inserted in a slice in the center of each. Also good and not overkill.
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