Comments on: A Crown of Laurel…

By: marghi

marghi — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:38:23 +0000

A little bird told me they were brought in by private plane…hence no quarantine…

By: Marketman

Marketman — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:57:09 +0000

The Kid was less than a year old when her lola passed away… So she is lucky that her lola’s request/wish was implemented…

By: sonianer

sonianer — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:47:43 +0000

hi Marketman.

i was not in mamou that night. i would have wanted to be there to support the restaurant’s heartwarming generosity but i had to be elsewhere.

okay, i know who the sculptor is. what an honor for the Kid to have her portrait done by a national artist! your mom certainly knew what to ask for. must have been a doting grandma with good taste at that!

By: Marketman

Marketman — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:31:05 +0000

Marketfan, dried they seem more pungent and stronger, but fresh they are more subtle and flavorful as well. I use them fresh in some stews or sometimes in conjunction with dried… fresh ones can also be used with grilled shrimp, for example…

By: MarketFan

MarketFan — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:32:25 +0000

Are laurel aka adobo leaves better used fresh or dried? Any discernible difference in flavor?

By: Marketman

Marketman — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:47:23 +0000

CecileJ, I once brought in several wine bottles filled with cultured baby orchids (hundreds of baby plants in each bottle) from Thailand or Indonesia and the customs guy looked at them and waved them through! At worst, they will ask you to leave the plants in a bin and they will be destroyed, but I have never seen that happen. Friends of ours brought back several live lotus plants from Bangkok in their maletas! Of course, we should be concerned about bringing bugs across borders but for the most part, customs are more worried about drugs, electronics and the like…

By: Cecile J

Cecile J — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:25:43 +0000

Oh, so they are not so strict for incoming flights? I have always wanted to sneak in plant cuttings for my Ma whenever I am abroad but was deathly scared of being stopped by some Customs guy and handcuffed for bringing in orchid plants or some thing! Hehe. Now I know….

By: Marketman

Marketman — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:12:44 +0000

sonianer, a relative of my mom is a fairly well known sculptor. On my mom’s deathbed, he asked her what she wished for… at which point she said, “You must promise me that you will do a bust of The Kid before she is five years old,” and her wish was eventually fulfilled. We cherish the piece, for obvious reasons… P.S., did you have relatives at Mamou for dinner the other night? A table near us had several folks with your last name… :)

By: sonianer

sonianer — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:48:37 +0000

what a most apt way of handling the fresh laurel leaves — and drying them for future use, the bad hair day look not withstanding. ” pluck them out of the kid’s head. . . ” you are so funny!

the bust of The Kid looks so good. do you mind sharing who did it?
thanks!

By: Marketman

Marketman — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:45:19 +0000

Cecile, they were probably brought in by air freight and not quarantined. The same way thousands of crates of fruit, veggies and other agri products are brought in and not subjected to quarantine either. Unfortunately for our pineapples, bananas, mangoes and other fruits, they can’t do the same journey to Australia so easily…