can you make a salad out of bay leaves?

[michael c]

i've been watching the early 1795 episodes.

there is a scene in which angelique is in the woods gathering herbs for some sort of hocus-pocus when she's stumbled upon by an inquisitive ben stokes.

what is she doing he demands?why she's gathering herbs to make a "special salad" for her mistress as a surprise she fibs.this "surprised" me.what kind of herbs grow along the maine coast in november?

bay leaves she claims to have(turns out to be deadly nightshade but that's beside the point).bay leaves.what else?the harsh climate of a maine winter would do in most herbs.something hearty like sage or rosemary perhaps?anything delicate like chives or tarragon would whither away.

anyway this whole scene rang as a false note to me.did people in new england eat salad in the 1700's?how would this bay leaf salad be dressed?a light vinaigrette?wouldn't a more typical meal of the period be something like roasted wild boar and stewed apples?maybe it's a martinique thing.
and aren't bay leaves too tough to be eaten raw anyways and that's why they're added to long-simmering soups and stews and then discarded?

this whole episode would have seemed more plausible if she had just said she was going to brew a tea.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Most herbs would survive outside until the first frost, and it's not impossible that it wouldn't have occurred in late November. Sometimes the first coastal frost isn't actually until late December. Though we should probably keep in mind that Collinsport is a very, uh, unique location where every tree seems to keep its leaves all winter long.    So, one could presume every herb would always be available. 

As for whether or not 18th century New Englanders would eat salad, I have no idea. However, the salad was supposedly intended for Josette, so she would perhaps have a much more diverse palette.    Though a salad consisting solely of bay leaves doesn't sound all that appetizing, no matter how one might dress it. 

[Janet the Wicked]

You eat whatever is in season, whether it be New England or the deep, humid ::ahem:: south. One would not find bay leaves akin to New England gardens. It would have to be imported, which I believe it was in those days, just as it is now. The growing season in Maine is plenty short. The most tantilizing fruit is the apple and then there is maple syrup. Corn, of course. And plentiful seafood. There is nothing so tasteful as a New England clam and I miss them very much.
Fortunately for this Yankee, misplaced and homesick, there is the Vermont Country Store on line. Missus Johnson never had it so good.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

One would not find bay leaves akin to New England gardens. It would have to be imported, which I believe it was in those days

Well, that's true - Laurel trees shouldn't even be growing in New England. Though, apparently either 1) Angelique wasn't aware of that, 2) Angelique didn't think Ben was smart enough to know that, or 3) Laurel could indeed grow in the bizarro world of Collinsport. 

And BTW, Laurel is an evergreen, so IF it could grow in the magical climate of Collinsport, it would have it's leaves all year round. At least that bit would make sense - or about as much sense as any of the perpetually green flora on DS makes. 

Also, Mint must be particularly hardy because I have friends in Maine who have it outside well into December. Like I said, it lives outdoors until the first frost kills it (then, until the spring, they simply grow the plants they've brought indoors prior to the frost).

[loril54]

3) Laurel could indeed grow in the bizarro world of Collinsport. 

And BTW, Laurel is an evergreen, so IF it could grow in the magical climate of Collinsport, it would have it's leaves all year round. At least that bit would make sense - or about as much sense as any of the perpetually green flora on DS makes. 

Also, Mint must be particularly hardy because I have friends in Maine who have it outside well into December. Like I said, it lives outdoors until the first frost kills it (then, until the spring, they simply grow the plants they've brought indoors prior to the frost).

Since the writers never thought that the shows would ever be picked apart the way they are now, I bet they just looked in some books and came up with something. 

[adamsgirl]

Bay leaf salad? Nah -- you can't eat them. Tea? Yes, as someone said, that makes much more sense. As to eating salad, Josette would have probably eaten that on Martinique because they were French. The French were THE arbiters of all things food back in those days, unlike the English and their colonist cousins. A dressing would simply have been a simple vinaigrette or a more complicated homemade mayonnaise.

[Gothick]

I actually can just imagine Angelique serving a salad of bay leaves and cider vinegar to Ma'mzelle and gloating, "You shall HAVE your precious salad, Josette... but not as you would have wished it!" and then, as the bespelled Missy weepily crunches the harsh jagged leaves against her soft cheeks, cackle:  "You shall vinaigrette the night, my dear ... FOR ALL ETERNITY!"

Cue commercial break...

G.

[adamsgirl]

Oh, Gothick! I surely can picture that scene! LOL!

[michael c]

love it gothick!

just the imagery of ang preparing and serving the tough,leathery bay leaf salad to josette gives me a laugh.