Today there was a new ingredient in my grocery store: lime leaves, right there in the herbs next to bay leaves and rosemary and thyme.
Well, my policy is when they have something new in produce, I buy it, right away, no questions asked. I'm in favor of the broadest range of produce possible; I want produce to take over the cakemix isle and halfway down the canned goods. I had cooked with lime leaves before, but to get them I had to go down to the International District, to our venerable pan-Asian market Uwajimaya. Lime leaves close to home, hurrah.
But that's not the point of this story. The point is that I of course went home and searched My Bookshelf +Ingredient +Citrus leaves "lime leaves": 435 results ... mmm, Hmong chargrilled black chicken ... Lemongrass consommé w/pea shoot & mushroom dumplings ... Smoked trout salad ...
Whoops, here's a recipe for Tom ka gai from Falling Cloudberries: A World of Family Recipes by Tessa Kiros with no lime leaves. Instead, there are limes and something called "makroot leaves." Well, OK, I guess EYB must have messed up the pattern recognition somehow, but just for safety's sake, before I call them on it, what is a makroot leaf, anyhow?
Oh. It's a kaffir lime leaf. EYB is not just efficient; it's erudite. Makes me proud to be a member.
xxx, mcvl