Aaaaah...bay leaf. You really know how to tie disparate flavors together into one unified force of yummy. I just enjoyed a bowl of Cream of Tomato with Chicken and Orzo (see Sean's post below). The ingredients list is a paragraph long. All real stuff though. No hydrolyzed vegetable proteins or MSG or BPA like you can find in most canned soups.
Real shredded chicken (not that cubed dark mystery meat), tomato, onion, garlic, paprika, cayenne, some basil, salt and pepper obviously, and that beautiful bay leaf. He's like, "Hey, cayenne! Take it down a notch. You! Tomato! Stop being so acidic." Yes, the bay leaf is a he, and he's not shy. There are a few varieties of bay leaf all capable of accomplishing similar feats. Be sure when you're looking to flavor your soups, stews, and rice dishes with him that you remove him before serving because he does bite back. Not pleasant.
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Without trying to highjack your post the myth of bay leaf toxicity is due to relative bay leaves which are not sold or used for any culinary purposes being poisonous. There is no risk of poison effect from culinary bay leaves sold at your grocery or farm stands, but they do not soften during cooking and so they could potentially scratch your throat if swallowed so do be careful to remove them after cooking and before serving to unsuspecting guests!!
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