Actually, I do have a bit of an issue with bay leaves. I do have a bay tree I can raid for fresh leaves, but I do wonder what the leaves actually contribute to any dish. I know that I've overdone bay at times and have had to trash the dish. So if I use less, I can't detect their influence. Hmm. I tend to leave them out these days. Other spicy additions I'm suspicious of are cinnamon and fennel seeds. Tiny amounts only of the former and none of the latter. Overdone rosemary can be a bit of a hooligan too. Someone gave me some pistachio biscotti they'd made the other day. I had to spit out the first mouthful as it was overwhelmed by cinnamon. Mrs Steve is eating them so mebbe it's just me!