Time, a component of the process.

 I'm making a small pan of cornbread this morning. Mostly, because it sounds good right now.

The process started me thinking.  Using time as an ingredient.  This is something I had to consider as a mechanic. Things take Time to happen, so time is a component of the process. Cooking is no different.

We like our corn bread kicked up a bit.  Oh, the Jiffy mix is our go-to.... but making it POP is not so hard.

Replace the milk with buttermilk.  Instant flavor boost.  Now, into the milk and egg mixture, toss a pinch of red-pepper flakes and a few grinds of black pepper.

Stir this mix up well, and set it aside for at least 20 minutes. Long enough for the oven to heat up and the cast iron pan to warm.

What's happening here is this.... the pepper flakes and ground black pepper are 'blooming' in the buttermilk mix. Flavors are being extracted from the dried spices, and released into the liquid component of the corn bread.

When the Jiffy mix is finally blended in, the flavors will spread evenly throughout the final product.

Boom... time is a component of the process.