Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for October 18, 2015
Transcript:
The Big Picture with Bernie and Phil. Bernie: You look a bit more agitated than usual today, Phil. Phil: Well...I made a pot of my favorite stew, but forgot to put in the bay leaf. Bernie: Oh...so that ruined it? Phil: No...I found out it made no difference! So that got me to thinking...why does almost every recipe insist on adding a bay leaf? Bernie: Ah-ha...it must be a conspiracy! Phil: Exactly! We're all being duped into cooking with something no one can even taste! But by who? And why? Bernie: Come up with any plausible theories? Phil: Just one so far... A few more years of bay leaf marinating, and they'll all be ripe for harvesting! Mmm...can't wait! Bernie: I think we differ on the definition of "Plausible" Phil: Oh, like we're the only ones in the universe who'd come up with the idea of food trucks? Please...
Argythree about 9 years ago
Interesting theory about the origin of food trucks. Now what about bay leaves?
Wallythe2 about 9 years ago
This takes me back to the old Twilight Zone “To Serve Man” episode, based on the short story by Damon Knight (pub.1950 Nov. Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine).
Bilan about 9 years ago
I’d rather learn where chocolate came from. That’s what’s out of this world.
Kind&Kinder about 9 years ago
Uh oh, there must be something wrong with me. Bay leaf actually enhances the flavor of one of my spaghetti sauces—at least I THOUGHT so!
CO Premium Member about 9 years ago
Hmmm, if bay leaves have no flavor why would that aliens want to marinate us in them?
Ida No about 9 years ago
Bears!Space bears!Space bears in food trucks!It’s a thing!You can read it on the internet, so it must be true!
Charlie Fogwhistle about 9 years ago
Bay leaves add subtlety to the dish. Once I didn’t have any whole bay leaves, and tied up some crushed bay leaves in some nylon mesh. Forgot it was in the stew. Bit into it. Ugh. Not quite as bad as the gasoline I got in my mouth when siphoning some gas as a teen ager, but bad enough. Believe me, bay leaves have a flavor to them.
redwinger2015 about 9 years ago
His taste buds have died, that is why he can’t taste it. There is a definite difference when you don’t use bay leaves in sauces.
Reppr Premium Member about 9 years ago
Bay leaves – no taste to humans, nirvana to aliens.
dadoctah about 9 years ago
The guy who came up with adding bay leaves to soup decided to rest on his laurels.
Toonerific about 9 years ago
Why do I suddenly feel the urge to play Chicken Invaders?
e.groves about 9 years ago
I bought a Bay Leaf plant at an herb sale about three years ago. My wife uses the leaves for cooking. The plant is a tree. I bring it inside in winter and it’s doing real well. Even if you don’t cook with it, it is a very nice plant.
whiteheron about 9 years ago
Sometimes I just add Old Bay seasoning instead of using the leaf.. You taste that .First cold snap of the season, Putting on a crock pot of big dried limas., smoked ham hocks to simmer most of the day.Chop some yellow onion, bake some biscuits, slather them in butter, then just dive face first into the bowl of beans.Now that’s faring !
wdgnas about 9 years ago
use two bay leaves in the stew or spaghetti sauce. the person that makes a funny face while eating either gets the privilege of doing the dishes.
markmoss1 about 9 years ago
I’ve made pot roast with and without a bay leaf. It only takes one to add a not-so-subtle flavor, but I find I prefer it without the bay leaf. Perhaps Wiley’s scent receptors died (there is a connection between the back of the mouth and the sinuses, and quite a lot of flavor is actually scent). Or do old bay leaves lose their scent/flavor?
Varnes about 9 years ago
whiteheron, Lima beans? Lima beans? Lima Beans? Lima beans? Lima beans? Lima beans? Lima beans? Lima Beans? Lima beans? Lima beans? Are you mad, man? Seriously, Lima beans?..God’s revenge for being a vegetarian………They’re awful…...
Varnes about 9 years ago
But of course, I agree with you about what to do when the weather gets cold….STEW….It doesn’t matter what kind!…..Slow cooked, potatoes, carrots, onions, and personal flavorings….Hey, the secret to cooking is to make a normal recipe your own….Bay leaf…..
dabugger about 9 years ago
Oh, Oh, the main UFO crowd are caught with their conspiracies down. Should someone alert the jerk crowd of carson/trump? Actually might be a good idea. A refreshing new era of fantasies to look forward or backward to.
unca jim about 9 years ago
Three things I “had to learn” how to eat; 1/ sweet potato pie, 2/ Okra and 3/ Lima beans, but there ain’t nothin’ on the table that can’t be ‘doctored’ with some salt ‘n pepper and a generous dose of Texas Pete’s hot sauce ! The pie? Ain’t NO cure for THAT, save for a trip to the dumpster !!
GiantShetlandPony about 9 years ago
OK anyone else amused by how many people here seem to think Phil’s explanation is plausible? :P
That said, perhaps bay leaf adds something to ‘our’ flavor for alien cousine. That said, I’d hope alien people with advanced technology wouldn’t want to eat other people. However, food trailers and roach coaches, that may just be a universal norm.
neeeurothrush about 9 years ago
for my money – it’s the CIA
Fibbermcgee Premium Member about 9 years ago
During Vietnam they were called MRE’s (meals ready to eat). They came with a small pack of cigs. If you didn’t smoke you could usually trade your cigs and lima bean meal for a better one.
pouncingtiger about 9 years ago
Phil = Rupert Murdoch
tomielm about 9 years ago
Love the way Wiley’s mind works! His occasional conspiracy theories always make my day. Plausible? Maybe, maybe not, but always good for a giggle.
Seed_drill about 9 years ago
My wife got one of those things stuck in her throat when she was young. Had to have it removed at the ER.
Tarredandfeathered about 9 years ago
Simple reason for using Bay Leaves in the Food Truck: They also Kill the Roaches..
Shimmery Mermaid about 9 years ago
wonders2self … what does it say about me, that I can taste the bay leaf? :S
jonelphick 12 months ago
It’s “…but by WHOM…”