Hello from Seattle

[Seattle_Chef]

You got me on the electric kettle and Clearer X. Are those some type of cooking utensils?

Instead of using water with my tomato soup, I use milk. Have you ever heard of anyone doing this? My wife thought I was crazy the first time she saw me do this. I feel it adds a thickness and is better for your body

An electric kettle is an electric tea pot basically... it just heats the water to a boil really fast... like 64oz can be heated in about 2.5 minutes or so. Clearer X = Cleaner X, meaning whatever brand you use.

So basically, these fancy tools just make the job easier and are a great investment when you are "flush with cash" and want a toy to make the job a bit easier?

Let me test my understanding a bit...
Here seems to be the basics needed to get started:
* 2 large buckets with grit guards... and maybe the cool caster things so they roll around, but these are not needed
* DA tool with assorted plates and pads
* 5hp shop vac with assorted attachments and maybe 10-20' of hose
* Exterior soft brush(es), wash mit, and a heavy duty non-scratch sponge, and an extension pole.
* Nice tire and wheel brush
* A good hose nozzle
* An extension cord with maybe female receptacles
* Assorted auto washes, clay bar w/ spray lube, cleaners, polishes, AIO, waxes, glass cleaners, interior cleaners, carpet/ upholstery cleaners, vinyl cleaners, leather cleaners, and conditioners for interior as well?
* a large supply of good quality microfiber clothes ion varying thicknesses?
* initiative
* sticktoitiveness
* and please don't take offense to this... but a strong back and a weak mind... meaning, willingness to get in there and work hard and not over think it.
* oh, and a willingness to sell your services

Does this about cover it?

As far as your soup goes... It doesn't matter how you make it, as long as the desired result is what you're looking for in your soup.

Here is what I would start with if I were in your shoes and wanting to learn to cook... First, decide what style of cooking you like. Some folks like meat and potatoes, some like soups and stews, some like nuts and twigs and chit like that. Once you know the style of food you would like to start learning I can give you some basic guidelines...

However, IMHO you need to start with learning to make stock. It doesn't matter what style of food you like, all can benefit from stock. I'm not talking about bouillon cube, those are trash and have no business being a part of your kitchen unless your stocking up for doomsday... and in that case put them next to the Twinkies.

Do yourself a favor this weekend. Friday after work stop off at Costco. Pick up a roasted chicken($4.99), they are whole chickens that are already cooked and ready to eat. When you get home pull all the meat off the bones. You can hack the hell out of it, doesn't really matter. The goal is not the meat, it's the bones and the bits on the ends that you normally spit out, or pick off. Anything on that bird that is not meat, skin, fat(though a little will not hurt) and the string thing they use to hold the bird in the position it's in during cooking, Even the juice at the bottom of the pan.

This will seem like a lot, but it boils down to cooking the veg in the biggest pot you have, adding the bones and bits, water and cooking for a few hours. Straining it, cooling it and cleaning the fat off. This is what stock making is all about. Do NOT add salt.... You do that at the end of your dish to heighten the flavors.

Dice up 1 large or 2 med onions, 1-2 carrots, and 2-3 ribs of celery. These don't have to be perfect unless you would like to practice your knife skills. These you will sweat in a large pot(biggest you have probably) starting with the onions. Do this over a medium-med high heat with about 2Tbsp(enough to almost cover the bottom of the pan). The onions will turn clear-ish, meaning not really white, then add the carrots and celery (and a bit of garlic if you like, I don't but a lot of people do). You are looking to bring out the flavors of the aromatics here.

Once they are cooked a bit you will add the bones(w/all those end cartilage bits too) and cover with water, say 4-8 cups depending on the pot, bigger the better.

Now, this is the hard part. Bring it up to a simmer, meaning that it's just starting to bubble a bit. You will now need to adjust the heat down a bit. The goal is to keep it at that simmer point. Let it do it's thing here for a few hours, the longer the better really. It will cook down, you are pulling all the flavor out of the bones and bits. This is the stock. You might have to add water over the course of the cooking time. The longer you can cook it like this the better, I've been known to put my stocks in a 200 degree over over night with the lid on.

Once you are satisfied with the depth of flavor you have created it's time to strain and cool it off. You want to be very careful not to burn yourself or spill it. This stuff is like gold here, so be careful. The goal here is to create surface area exposed to the air. I use 2" pans like your wives 9x13 pans. You need to get it into the cooling pans, without the bones, bits or veg. I will leave that up to you to figure out your process. Once it's in the pans it will cool fastest if you stir it around once in a while, like you would do to cool your soup a bit before eating it.

Once it's cooled to around room temp you can put it in the frig to finish the process and get it below 40 degrees. Now, you will have a layer of fat on top and a jelly type stuff on the bottom. Skim off the fat without taking the jelly stuff with it. You don't have to get it all, just most. If you're going to use it in the next couple days leave it, if you're not, then you need to store it. Personally, I pour it in ice cube trays, freeze it, pop them out and put the frozen cubes in a gallon ziplock bag. Then when you need stock for sauces or whatever, put a few out and pop them in the pan to thaw. Easy as that.

This is what you will use for soup, rice, sauces for any chicken dish. This is what will bring soooo much flavor to everything you cook. You can do this with beef bones, turkey bones, pork, even fish bits. If your a vegetarian, you can make straight veg or mushroom stock.

[Seattle_Chef]

And not to be arrogant or anything, but once you learn how to make your own soups, You will never buy that crap ever again. Can soup belongs with bouillon cubes

[BillE]

Hey Chef...welcome to the party!

One tiny bit of advice...make sure you own vehicle is spotless and pristine.

When speaking with a potential customer (client, LOL), you want your car to reflect what you can achieve on THEIR car.

Knowing very well what Seattle weather is like (lived there for 40+ years), 'showing of' clean is a chore, but worth it.

Good luck!

Bill

[Flash Gordon]

An electric kettle is an electric tea pot basically... it just heats the water to a boil really fast... like 64oz can be heated in about 2.5 minutes or so. Clearer X = Cleaner X, meaning whatever brand you use.

So basically, these fancy tools just make the job easier and are a great investment when you are "flush with cash" and want a toy to make the job a bit easier?

Let me test my understanding a bit...
Here seems to be the basics needed to get started:
* 2 large buckets with grit guards... and maybe the cool caster things so they roll around, but these are not needed
* DA tool with assorted plates and pads
* 5hp shop vac with assorted attachments and maybe 10-20' of hose
* Exterior soft brush(es), wash mit, and a heavy duty non-scratch sponge, and an extension pole.
* Nice tire and wheel brush
* A good hose nozzle
* An extension cord with maybe female receptacles
* Assorted auto washes, clay bar w/ spray lube, cleaners, polishes, AIO, waxes, glass cleaners, interior cleaners, carpet/ upholstery cleaners, vinyl cleaners, leather cleaners, and conditioners for interior as well?
* a large supply of good quality microfiber clothes ion varying thicknesses?
* initiative
* sticktoitiveness
* and please don't take offense to this... but a strong back and a weak mind... meaning, willingness to get in there and work hard and not over think it.
* oh, and a willingness to sell your services

Does this about cover it?

Yes. Looks like you've been doing research already ^

The only thing I can think of at this point, is to warn you about duplicating products. Everything you need should fit into a 5 gallon bucket (minus polisher, pads, towels, shop-vac etc...)

Washing using the 2 bucket method, and explaining to your customers why you do this, will show them your dedication to perserving their paint

As far as your soup goes... It doesn't matter how you make it, as long as the desired result is what you're looking for in your soup.

Here is what I would start with if I were in your shoes and wanting to learn to cook... First, decide what style of cooking you like. Some folks like meat and potatoes, some like soups and stews, some like nuts and twigs and chit like that. Once you know the style of food you would like to start learning I can give you some basic guidelines...

However, IMHO you need to start with learning to make stock. It doesn't matter what style of food you like, all can benefit from stock. I'm not talking about bouillon cube, those are trash and have no business being a part of your kitchen unless your stocking up for doomsday... and in that case put them next to the Twinkies.

Do yourself a favor this weekend. Friday after work stop off at Costco. Pick up a roasted chicken($4.99), they are whole chickens that are already cooked and ready to eat. When you get home pull all the meat off the bones. You can hack the hell out of it, doesn't really matter. The goal is not the meat, it's the bones and the bits on the ends that you normally spit out, or pick off. Anything on that bird that is not meat, skin, fat(though a little will not hurt) and the string thing they use to hold the bird in the position it's in during cooking, Even the juice at the bottom of the pan.

This will seem like a lot, but it boils down to cooking the veg in the biggest pot you have, adding the bones and bits, water and cooking for a few hours. Straining it, cooling it and cleaning the fat off. This is what stock making is all about. Do NOT add salt.... You do that at the end of your dish to heighten the flavors.

Dice up 1 large or 2 med onions, 1-2 carrots, and 2-3 ribs of celery. These don't have to be perfect unless you would like to practice your knife skills. These you will sweat in a large pot(biggest you have probably) starting with the onions. Do this over a medium-med high heat with about 2Tbsp(enough to almost cover the bottom of the pan). The onions will turn clear-ish, meaning not really white, then add the carrots and celery (and a bit of garlic if you like, I don't but a lot of people do). You are looking to bring out the flavors of the aromatics here.

Once they are cooked a bit you will add the bones(w/all those end cartilage bits too) and cover with water, say 4-8 cups depending on the pot, bigger the better.

Now, this is the hard part. Bring it up to a simmer, meaning that it's just starting to bubble a bit. You will now need to adjust the heat down a bit. The goal is to keep it at that simmer point. Let it do it's thing here for a few hours, the longer the better really. It will cook down, you are pulling all the flavor out of the bones and bits. This is the stock. You might have to add water over the course of the cooking time. The longer you can cook it like this the better, I've been known to put my stocks in a 200 degree over over night with the lid on.

Once you are satisfied with the depth of flavor you have created it's time to strain and cool it off. You want to be very careful not to burn yourself or spill it. This stuff is like gold here, so be careful. The goal here is to create surface area exposed to the air. I use 2" pans like your wives 9x13 pans. You need to get it into the cooling pans, without the bones, bits or veg. I will leave that up to you to figure out your process. Once it's in the pans it will cool fastest if you stir it around once in a while, like you would do to cool your soup a bit before eating it.

Once it's cooled to around room temp you can put it in the frig to finish the process and get it below 40 degrees. Now, you will have a layer of fat on top and a jelly type stuff on the bottom. Skim off the fat without taking the jelly stuff with it. You don't have to get it all, just most. If you're going to use it in the next couple days leave it, if you're not, then you need to store it. Personally, I pour it in ice cube trays, freeze it, pop them out and put the frozen cubes in a gallon ziplock bag. Then when you need stock for sauces or whatever, put a few out and pop them in the pan to thaw. Easy as that.

This is what you will use for soup, rice, sauces for any chicken dish. This is what will bring soooo much flavor to everything you cook. You can do this with beef bones, turkey bones, pork, even fish bits. If your a vegetarian, you can make straight veg or mushroom stock.

Thats an incredibly detailed response! we eat alot of chicken, fish & venison, so this will come in very handy. My wife already murders those $5 store bought chickens from time to time and makes stock out of whats left. She wastes nothing I never realized all the trouble she goes through untill now. She tells me I should learn to cook should something ever happen to her, otherwise I will eat a bunch of junk

for taking the time to layout this recipe. You did a very good job of explaining it even to someone with basic culinary skills like me!

I feel indebted to you now. Do you have any other questions?

Your making me

And not to be arrogant or anything, but once you learn how to make your own soups, You will never buy that crap ever again. Can soup belongs with bouillon cubes

[Seattle_Chef]

Hey Chef...welcome to the party!

One tiny bit of advice...make sure you own vehicle is spotless and pristine.

When speaking with a potential customer (client, LOL), you want your car to reflect what you can achieve on THEIR car.

Knowing very well what Seattle weather is like (lived there for 40+ years), 'showing of' clean is a chore, but worth it.

Good luck!

Bill

That's really good advise, I agree 100%. I will have my hands full most likely haha!

[Seattle_Chef]

Thats an incredibly detailed response! we eat alot of chicken, fish & venison, so this will come in very handy. My wife already murders those $5 store bought chickens from time to time and makes stock out of whats left. She wastes nothing I never realized all the trouble she goes through untill now. She tells me I should learn to cook should something ever happen to her, otherwise I will eat a bunch of junk

for taking the time to layout this recipe. You did a very good job of explaining it even to someone with basic culinary skills like me!

I feel indebted to you now. Do you have any other questions?

Your making me

hahaha sorry to make you ! And, there's no debt buddy. Cooking is very easy once you know what style of foods you like.

As far as detailing goes... can you talk to me a bit about the difference in wax and paint sealant. How do you know which to choose?

[Flash Gordon]

hahaha sorry to make you ! And, there's no debt buddy. Cooking is very easy once you know what style of foods you like.

As far as detailing goes... can you talk to me a bit about the difference in wax and paint sealant. How do you know which to choose?

I just had my first lesson! I peeled 5 potatos and cut out the rotten parts!

I know very little of the technical aspects of wax/sealants. I don't use sealants unless requested, which is very rare. You'll want to apply a sealant then a wax if you do choose that route. The research I've done, proves to me that sealants are a waste of time, as there is no added benefit IMPO

I'll do some research for you and see if I can find you a more detailed answer

Stay Tuned!

[Flash Gordon]

As far as detailing goes... can you talk to me a bit about the difference in wax and paint sealant. How do you know which to choose?

I got you an answer! This is from BobbyG

From my understanding a true wax is made up of Carnauba Wax, oils and other ingredients. Most sealants are man made and made up of Polymers...Some refer to these as man made waxes


If you want a more detailed explanation, I will dig further

[Flash Gordon]

I got you an answer! This is from BobbyG

From my understanding a true wax is made up of Carnauba Wax, oils and other ingredients. Most sealants are man made and made up of Polymers...Some refer to these as man made waxes

Setec would like to argue this point by saying the following:

That may be the difference in ingredients, but I would argue that the key difference is that sealants cure and crosslink, while waxes do not. However, most waxes today have some synthetic ingredients so there is plenty of room for argument

My potatoes turned out great!!!

[Seattle_Chef]

Glad to hear your potatoes turned out great. Did you mash them or how did you prepare them?

I will have to see about this curing and crosslinking business hahaha