Seriously, I read something that made this exact point! The argument was that the flavor compounds in bay leaves are oil soluble, not water soluble. So if you're just simmering them in a watery broth, they might not do much. You need some fat in there for them to actually release their flavor, like in a stew with oil or meat drippings. Maybe that's why your stock test didn't show a difference. It kinda needs the right conditions to work.

That @jakeperry story is exactly the problem... it's not just length but texture, density, even how they wear it day-to-day. Do you think there's a way to fix the forms themselves, like adding mandatory photo uploads or better questions, or does any box-ticking exercise just miss the point of a real chat?

Actually sometimes the annoying thing now feels impossible when you're already overwhelmed. The simple solution is only simple when you have the energy to see it. My brain fights me on putting stuff away right after use even though I know it saves time later. What's your trick for pushing through that resistance?

I was all in on the clean internal look too. Trying to fix one on the side of the road is a nightmare that changes your view pretty fast. Function wins over form when you're stuck somewhere.