Some day one thing eclipses all other things. Today it was the Market that probably set a record gain of a 1627 point gain which amounted to a 7.73 % gain. That is more than some whole year gains. I was not fully invested so my portfolio only rose about 4.5%. But that was an impressive number that lifted my portfolio above my magic threshold value of 1-1-2018.
I am comfortable not being fully invested because the world economy has a very long way to go to reach anything close to the pre-corona economic normal. Think about all the poor, uneducated people living in Afghanistan and Yemen where there is war raging and minimal health care. Corona is going to devastate many poorer countries. As a doctor in Lebanon said today on the PBS news, “when you see what is happening in the richest countries of the world with the best health care, you can not imagine what will happen in the Rest of the world.”
I did not eat any breakfast. So, I made a simple salad for lunch of Romaine lettuce, a diced tomato, ¼ of a cucumber sliced, some Manchego cheese, a slice of ham cubed, two green onions sliced, a thin slice of onion and a sprig of tarragon, dressed with Cesar dressing.
I toasted two slices of French roll and buttered them and spread salmon flavored cod roe on them for a slightly Swedish touch.
I worked until 4:00 and then watched the news until 5:00 when I walked ½ mile. I returned home as Suzette was returning from Costco with a load of groceries for us and the Center, including a fresh halibut steak, goat cheese, brie cheese, bell peppers, Romaine lettuce, blueberries, a pineapple, mushrooms, French baguettes, half and half, heavy cream, lemons, butter, tomatoes, Pita chips, and several other items. We can’t travel and we can’t go shopping or go out to restaurants, but we can eat well at home.
Suzette had not eaten all day and was hungry. I was also hungry, so we heated up the PPI pot roast, mashed potatoes, and steamed string beans and I opened a 2012 Wellington Cabernet Franc for an instant dinner. The wine was heavy with a rich finish that complemented the rich heavy dinner.
We enjoyed it, particularly since we did not need to cook.
Later at 9:00 after we watched Antiques Roadshow we made hummus.
Here is the recipe:
“INGREDIENTS
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
½ teaspoon baking soda (if you’re using canned chickpeas)
¼ cup lemon juice (from 1 ½ to 2 lemons), more to taste
1 medium-to-large clove garlic, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
½ cup tahini
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water, more as needed
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Any of the following garnishes: drizzle of olive oil or zhoug sauce, sprinkle of ground sumac or paprika, chopped fresh parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
Place the chickpeas in a medium saucepan and add the baking soda. Cover the chickpeas by several inches of water, then bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Continue boiling, reducing heat if necessary to prevent overflow, for about 20 minutes, or until the chickpeas look bloated, their skins are falling off, and they’re quite soft. In a fine-mesh strainer, drain the chickpeas and run cool water over them for about 30 seconds. Set aside (no need to peel the chickpeas for this recipe!).
Meanwhile, in a food processor or high-powered blender, combine the lemon juice, garlic and salt. Process until the garlic is very finely chopped, then let the mixture rest so the garlic flavor can mellow, ideally 10 minutes or longer.
Add the tahini to the food processor and blend until the mixture is thick and creamy, stopping to scrape down any tahini stuck to the sides and bottom of the processor as necessary.
While running the food processor, drizzle in 2 tablespoons ice water. Scrape down the food processor, and blend until the mixture is ultra smooth, pale and creamy. (If your tahini was extra-thick to begin with, you might need to add 1 to 2 tablespoons more ice water.)
Add the cumin and the drained, over-cooked chickpeas to the food processor. While blending, drizzle in the olive oil. Blend until the mixture is super smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor as necessary, about 2 minutes. Add more ice water by the tablespoon if necessary to achieve a super creamy texture.
Taste, and adjust as necessary—I almost always add another ¼ teaspoon salt for more overall flavor and another tablespoon of lemon juice for extra zing.
Scrape the hummus into a serving bowl or platter, and use a spoon to create nice swooshes on top. Top with garnishes of your choice, and serve. Leftover hummus keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week.”
I simmered the garbanzo beans with baking soda for ½ hour as the recipe suggested and then washed the baking soda off them. Suzette took over and blended 2 T. of lemon juice, 1 ½ cup of garbanzo beans, ½ tsp. of salt, ½ tsp. of ground cumin, 1 T. of olive oil, and 2 heaping T. of tahini in the Cuisinart all together.. The hummus was thick and granular so we added 2 T. of cold water as the recipe recommended
plus a little more olive oil and lemon juice and salt, which smoothed out the hummus. Cold Water appears to be the secret ingredient for creaminess. I was amazed how easy hummu was to make.
We put it in a container and refrigerated it for snacking tomorrow,.
Around 9:30 I started blogging and Suzette went to bed to watch TV.
Bon Appetit
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