Faced with the economic meltdown, it's really nice to sit down to a hunk of braised pork shoulder that's been slow cooked for half the weekend in a bay-infused broth. You feel like you might just be able to bear it all.

Bay leaves add a lot to the flavor of the broth in your stew. Sauces and stocks have always been bay’s main gig, where it plays the same role as bass player in a rock band. It's a foundation spice that you add early to back up and enhance the main flavors. And it's almost always used dried.

There are other dishes worth exploring, too. Dried figs cooked in wine with bay are excellent. Or try potatoes, browned in duck fat, cooked with half a dozen bay leaves.

This is some of the best wild bay I’ve tasted, gathered in mid to late summer in Sicily, when the new spring leaves have matured.