All it takes is ONE word.........

well thats what popped into my mind lol yup I already read no #11

LOL, you have a point there Lakota. Can't very well have cooking without a kitchen! See comment #11 for the answer.........

Gosh, I never thought of starting with the cook...............lol See comment #11 for the answer I was looking for. Nice to see you K.

Finally! An original answer and one I agree with wholeheartedly! So where are we having dinner tonight Mr. Fish?

P1key's Diner. The best fish and chips in the World!

Yeah, where are you taking us, p1key? Food cooked by someone else always tastes the bestest. No work, someone serves you, nothing to clean up. Ahhhhh, heaven.

You're my favorite mother daughter duo!

Do you know you sound just like your mother? So there is obviously a lot of love in both your cooking and your mom's! Hugs.

Yeah...so I've been told It's funny, neither of us read the other's response. But we talked about a couple days later, and laughed that we said the same thing...lol

And taste is retained and enhanced by proper TIMING. lol

Ah, but how does one retain the flavor?

At your table Gabs, yes love, would be more than enough! Hugs sweets.

See #11 above you. If the heating element is TIMED properly, then you have a successful cook. It's all in the timing! LOL

Hey Plunk......then I would blame the prep of the ingredients or the ingredients themselves. As I said, any mediocre cook can be successful if they time the cooking right, but then, they have to know what the correct time frame is too.

Oh never mind--I forgot totally forgot about myLot's rule about short responses. Dang it, I just don't really have the time to craft those long, well thought out responses...I'm now working again (finally). I also missed the punch line here, but I'm still standing by my answer of fresh...heat cannot only come from the heating 'element' on a stove, but a gas grill (or charcoal, for the purist), open flame, or solar.

Thats why I'm an old-school film photog--film has grain--those irregularly shape bits that make up the image. The world is curved, so why should I be confined to straight edges like a pixel? I've always thought outside the box and damm1t I'm proud of it!!!

Scorpio you think outside the box! Good for you. You weren't sidetracked by the use of 'element'. And I can't tell you yet if you're right or wrong.

Even an uncreative cook can be successful if the TIMING of the cooking of the ingredients is right. A mediocre cook can redeem themselves by timing the cooking of the food so that it is served at peak flavor and texture...

And what' the key ingredient of passion? Good TIMING! LOL And you can take that any way at all, as it applies to a lot of kinds of passion.............if I remember correctly, she says, grumbling in frustration......

What's the most important thing I tried to teach you when it came to cooking? TIMING. It's all in the timing. LOL But it didn't matter to you so much because your guy would eat anything at any time! LOl Remember? Too funny.

I'd start feeding him spaghetti sauce over pablum! ROFL (Sorry, but I know what you're talking about, and couldn't resist!)

Nope, cooking isn't a science for me like it is to you. You make a big production of it or even when you don't it's still a gourmet meal. You make me sick that you make it look so easy! lol Yeah, he's fairly easy to please, so long as I cook spaghetti at least once a week or chili, his 2 favourite dishes. UGHHH! I'm so sick of spaghetti. Now, since I am sick of eating and cooking it, he wants it so much, he will make it, since apparently I don't make it often enough for him. So, when he does, it gives me a night off of the cooking. I still eat it, once, but then I make myself something else for the next few days, while he is eating his precious spaghetti. As time goes on, he is getting pickier though. Since he doesn't like things that he has to chew much (another story), he turns his nose up to a lot of the meals I cook. But, strangely, even when I cook something he doesn't like, he still has to have some. Go figure. Then, of course, he complains that he didn't like it, too. Plus, he prefers fried foods and things with lots of fat, whereas I was taught not to fry foods if at all possible and I don't like fat.

I've turned out some pretty good meals with some pretty cheap ingredients, but they were successful just the same because I TIMED the cooking of them just right. LOL

You get best response littletinker because YES the answer is timing! Good thing you answered after 10 previous responses! Well done! Even a mediocre cook can be successful if the food it properly timed! You must be a very good cook.

Heck Bo....you knocked me over when you slapped yourself silly, so it's lights out for me too! ROFL

Chit! The first thing that popped in my head was salt, then fire. The way you had element in there, ............OH, never mind! *Smacks forehead with palm of hand, knocksherself over, hits head on floor and passing out* With that, it is lights out for me. Night, night!

I didn't cheat...honest. After I posted, I had to agree with myself because I'm always looking at the clock to see if it's time to put things on. Then it's timing all the way...how long should I stir?....the recipe says continuously but I'm doing several other things as well. Will I add this now? ...eb, let the flavours blend and soak in. Should I turn it down now or later? should I raise the heat for a minute? How long has that steak been on? Don't leave it toi rest too long or it will get cold....etc, etc. PS. I read the response above mine and almost threw up my breakfast.

I had a boo-boo last night too. It doesn't happen very often. I cooked a leg of lamb with veges. The lamb was pretty tasteless, the potatoes were powdery, the sweet potato was overly sweet and the pan juices burned so I had to make the gravy on the stove top. The whole thing failed to come together as my roasts usually do. I enjoy cooking and think I do ok. I'm more of a traditional cook than an inventive or exploring one. The only problem is...I eat what I cook. I baked the other day...a yummy zucchini slice and a banana cake with walnuts....I scoffed the lot.

No throwing up allowed! LOL And yes, timing is everything when cooking. You must be a good cook Tickle. Freeze a few of your best and sent them to Canada will ya? Now that I'm cooking for just myself, I'm getting sloppy about timing. Burnt my dinner last night and had to start from scratch! DUH!

[i]hahaha..thanks sparks, Maybe I just refer it to me since I don't know how to cook and whenever I am trying, I need recipe! LOL! Now, I need to shu* up and check the correct answer! LOL! See yah![/i]

LOL, cappy, only because I love you so much will I let you get away with that answer! Hugs. See comment #11 for the 'other' answer. LOL

Yes you are right time is certainly important when cooking. It was interesting to see how the other responses got caught up on the element aspect. I didn't even really notice the word used until after everyone else had mentioned it.

You're nearly there............along with all that, you need to TIME things right while they are cooking. Well done Lou.

I was kicking myself after the first half dozen responses for using that word........but I did put '' around it so people would think outside the box! LOL

Then I'll come up with a quiz just for you Barb and give you a heads up before I post it! LOL

YEP you clever cook you! Too bad littletinker got it before you and earned BR LOL

That's okay. She earned it. Maybe I'll get the next quiz. I was doing other things and wasn't reading mail quick enough.

I knew writing the word 'element' like that would confuse people! Damn, I had it worded a lot better in my head this morning when I was making fried eggs!

I was thinking of eggs now, dreaming about breakfast! So now we're back to the proverbial 'what came first....?' scenario, aren't we? Oh my God, I'll be up all night!

Ah scorpio.........I'd apologize, but I'm having too much fun! ROFL

Ah cheer up snowcat. My son is a chef and even he depends on the luck.....What is most important he says, is timing! Timing the cooking process just right for each ingredient and you'll have a successful meal. Honest!

Squishing the cookie down when it's on the baking sheet will make it burn too...

Maybe cookingware too? I've got different types of cookie sheets. One of those automatically burns the cookies. (When I have the yearly urge to make a batch...) This sheet is aggravating. I can check it, cookies are still raw. 30 frigging seconds later (I timed it!) and they were burnt on the bottoms! I used to think it was me, but since he got me airbake pans, I can now point the finger at that pan! I am vindicated!! (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Just like the cookies...)