Bay Leaves...

Sheldon' Cyndi said:

A few years ago I purchased a yard or so of muslin and cut it to make

lots

Quoted message said:

of little muslin bags (think 'sachet'😉. I simply pour things into them,
tie them, and drop them in. I've experimented with different tie
thingies... once I sewed strings onto the bags so they'd be 100 % ready
but
usually I just make the bags and keep them in a drawer with some string
already
cut to size.

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Cyndi

You have way, WAY too much free time, Cyndi Stewart... sheesh, didja do
your own breast implants yourself too. To easily retrieve bay leaves
and other whole spices/herbs place them in a metal teaball, in fact
there are large ones available specifically for spices.

Sheldon
=================

At the time I was a SAHM... and yes, I did have more free time back then.

No... no implants necessary but am considering doing my own reduction if
my insurance won't cover it!

At the time, I didn't have very much $$ and was also looking for other
things
to make for Christmas gifts for my family. $2.00 worth of fabric made about
40 muslin bags *plus* I still some of the fabric left and probably could
make
another 20 of them!

Cyndi CreativeOnADime

"Katra" <&Cyndi wrote

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I used to keep cheesecloth on hand for cooking things that I wanted

to

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remove after cooking but have since switched over to muslin material.

A few

Quoted message said:

years ago I purchased a yard or so of muslin and cut it to make lots

of

Quoted message said:

little muslin bags (think 'sachet'😉. I simply pour things into them,

tie

Quoted message said:

them, and drop them in. I've experimented with different tie

thingies...

Quoted message said:

once I sewed strings onto the bags so they'd be 100 % ready but

usually I

Quoted message said:

just make the bags and keep them in a drawer with some string already

cut to

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size.

Cyndi

<Snipping Sheldon's compliments>

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Hey now THAT is a neat idea I'd not thought of. Cool!!! :-)
Since I have a live herb garden, that idea will come in handy.
Especially for rosemary!

Thank you!

--
K.

================
<blush> Thank you. They work really well. Depending upon what dish you
use them in - they can be washed and reused.

Cyndi

Quoted message said:

To easily retrieve bay leaves
and other whole spices/herbs place them in a metal teaball, in fact
there are large ones available specifically for spices.
Sheldon

Hey now THAT is a neat idea I'd not thought of. Cool!!! :-)
Since I have a live herb garden, that idea will come in handy.
Especially for rosemary!
Katra

Metal tea balls come in many configurations and sizes. The perforated
metal ones are okay but I prefer the ones made of wire mesh. Make sure
to get those made of stainless steel, not aluminum. And those with a
latch catch hold up better than the screw closure. And for clean up
they go in the dishwasher. I have quite an assortment, for spice I
have a couple of big balls in my drawers.

Sheldon

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ophelia said:

"Katra" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:KatraMungBean->

Quoted message said:

Hey now THAT is a neat idea I'd not thought of. Cool!!! :-)
Since I have a live herb garden, that idea will come in handy.
Especially for rosemary!

I love rosemary and I chop it very finely and of course it stays in. My DH
likes the taste in food but if I leave them whole he will complain about the
'bushes' and pick them out🙂

Ophelia
Scotland

Heh! I mince rosemary also!
It's excellent on poultry...

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

There is no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada

Quoted message said:

,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&include=0&userid=katra

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

Quoted message said:

To easily retrieve bay leaves
and other whole spices/herbs place them in a metal teaball, in fact
there are large ones available specifically for spices.
Sheldon

Hey now THAT is a neat idea I'd not thought of. Cool!!! :-)
Since I have a live herb garden, that idea will come in handy.
Especially for rosemary!
Katra

Metal tea balls come in many configurations and sizes. The perforated
metal ones are okay but I prefer the ones made of wire mesh. Make sure
to get those made of stainless steel, not aluminum. And those with a
latch catch hold up better than the screw closure. And for clean up
they go in the dishwasher. I have quite an assortment, for spice I
have a couple of big balls in my drawers.

Sheldon

Master punster as always... <lol>

Steel balls made by Ben Wa work best I would think?
--
K.

-L. said:

Quoted message said:

What flavor do they impart?

Um...Bay flavor. ;P They are pretty strong. One is plenty.

My SIL says too much makes food taste like medicine.

I'm like Katra... my mother never used bay leaves in her cooking, so I
didn't learn to cook with it until i was an adult. I don't use it in
many dishes and when I do, I use it sparingly.

-L. said:

Quoted message said:

What flavor do they impart?

Um...Bay flavor. ;P They are pretty strong. One is plenty.

My SIL says too much makes food taste like medicine.

I'm like Katra... my mother never used bay leaves in her cooking, so I
didn't learn to cook with it until i was an adult. I don't use it in
many dishes and when I do, I use it sparingly.

-L. said:

Quoted message said:

What flavor do they impart?

Um...Bay flavor. ;P They are pretty strong. One is plenty.

My SIL says too much makes food taste like medicine.

I'm like Katra... my mother never used bay leaves in her cooking, so I
didn't learn to cook with it until i was an adult. I don't use it in
many dishes and when I do, I use it sparingly.

-L. said:

Quoted message said:

What flavor do they impart?

Um...Bay flavor. ;P They are pretty strong. One is plenty.

My SIL says too much makes food taste like medicine.

I'm like Katra... my mother never used bay leaves in her cooking, so I
didn't learn to cook with it until i was an adult. I don't use it in
many dishes and when I do, I use it sparingly.

Aaron Bergman said:

I read once that California bay leaves should be avoided, but I've never
done a comparison.

Only wimps avoid California Bay... because it's stronger than Turkish.
🙂 One way to get around their strong flavor is to use 1/2 a leaf
instead of a whole one.

sf

Aaron Bergman said:

I read once that California bay leaves should be avoided, but I've never
done a comparison.

Only wimps avoid California Bay... because it's stronger than Turkish.
🙂 One way to get around their strong flavor is to use 1/2 a leaf
instead of a whole one.

sf

Aaron Bergman said:

I read once that California bay leaves should be avoided, but I've never
done a comparison.

Only wimps avoid California Bay... because it's stronger than Turkish.
🙂 One way to get around their strong flavor is to use 1/2 a leaf
instead of a whole one.

sf

Aaron Bergman said:

I read once that California bay leaves should be avoided, but I've never
done a comparison.

Only wimps avoid California Bay... because it's stronger than Turkish.
🙂 One way to get around their strong flavor is to use 1/2 a leaf
instead of a whole one.

sf

Kenneth said:

On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 02:16:38 -0600, Katra

Quoted message said:

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They are the leaves from the Bay tree.

<grins> THAT I knew!

Well, it is false. They are the leaves of the Laurel...

FYI: It's called California BAY Laurel, which we shorten to "Bay"...
and it's called many other things too, including Oregon Myrtle (a real
eye opener for me).

Umbellularia californica
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/54075/

Kenneth said:

On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 02:16:38 -0600, Katra

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

They are the leaves from the Bay tree.

<grins> THAT I knew!

Well, it is false. They are the leaves of the Laurel...

FYI: It's called California BAY Laurel, which we shorten to "Bay"...
and it's called many other things too, including Oregon Myrtle (a real
eye opener for me).

Umbellularia californica
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/54075/

Kenneth said:

On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 02:16:38 -0600, Katra

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

They are the leaves from the Bay tree.

<grins> THAT I knew!

Well, it is false. They are the leaves of the Laurel...

FYI: It's called California BAY Laurel, which we shorten to "Bay"...
and it's called many other things too, including Oregon Myrtle (a real
eye opener for me).

Umbellularia californica
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/54075/

Kenneth said:

On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 02:16:38 -0600, Katra

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

They are the leaves from the Bay tree.

<grins> THAT I knew!

Well, it is false. They are the leaves of the Laurel...

FYI: It's called California BAY Laurel, which we shorten to "Bay"...
and it's called many other things too, including Oregon Myrtle (a real
eye opener for me).

Umbellularia californica
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/54075/

Katra said:

Ok, I know this is really going to make me sound ignorant, but my mom

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almost never used bay leaves and I did learn to cook mostly from

her....

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<snip>

I understand you use them whole because you need to remove
them when you are done as they are toxic if eaten???

This is just a footnote to the discussion of bay leaves. I happened to
be reading one of my cookbooks, and in an index where various herbs and
spices were discussed, the author wrote that for "Stuffings: Crush a
bay leaf and add to stuffings for fish, pork or poultry". So if you're
still worried about bay leaves (the ones used for cooking) being
toxic....

Mac

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Katra said:

Ok, I know this is really going to make me sound ignorant, but my

mom

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

almost never used bay leaves and I did learn to cook mostly from

her....

Quoted message said:

<snip>

I understand you use them whole because you need to remove
them when you are done as they are toxic if eaten???

This is just a footnote to the discussion of bay leaves. I happened

to

Quoted message said:

be reading one of my cookbooks, and in an index where various herbs

and

Quoted message said:

spices were discussed, the author wrote that for "Stuffings: Crush a
bay leaf and add to stuffings for fish, pork or poultry". So if

you're

Quoted message said:

still worried about bay leaves (the ones used for cooking) being
toxic....

Mac

Bay leaf is NOT toxic. But they do *not* soften during cooking and
have very sharp edges which can and will slice flesh like a razor blade
and can and do become lodged in the throat and/or aspirated causing
asphixiation. Do NOT ever "crush" bay leaves directly into a recipe...
use whole or powdered only... and when used whole count how many you
put in (write it down) and be certain to retrieve same prior to
serving. Whenever possible contain bay leaves securely by tieing in a
cloth or place in a metal infuser... when placing bay leaves directly
into a pot choose only those fully intact, not damaged... save the
broken ones for the infuser.

I use a lot of bay leaves. I buy my bay leaves from Penzeys by the
pound (there're a lot of leaves in a pound). The last batch they sent
contained what I thought were an excessive number of broken ones, which
I did ask they replace, indeed they were.

Sheldon

Katra replied to Ophelia:

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I love rosemary and I chop it very finely and of course it stays in. My
DH likes the taste in food but if I leave them whole he will complain
about the 'bushes' and pick them out🙂

Heh! I mince rosemary also!
It's excellent on poultry...

Try this sometime (you can use lavender instead of rosemary, too):

ROSEMARY SHORTBREAD

3 sticks (3/4 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar, plus 2 teaspoons for sprinkling
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary, or 2 teaspoons dried
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter at medium-high
speed until pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Add the 2/3 cup sugar and beat
until fluffy, about 1 minute.

2. If using dried rosemary, grind it in a spice grinder or crush it with a
mortar and pestle or rolling pin until finely ground but not pulverized.
Add the all-purpose flour, rice flour, salt and rosemary to the butter
mixture and beat until thoroughly combined. Pat the dough into 2 squares,
wrap in wax paper and refrigerate until firm, about 1 1/2 hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment
paper.

4. On a well-floured surface, roll each square of dough into a 10-inch by
6-inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Cut the dough into whatever shape
you like. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them
about 1/2 inch apart. If desired, sprinkle the tops with the remaining 2
teaspoons sugar, then bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden at the edges.
Cool cookies on a rack and store in an airtight container.

Bob