August 20, 2020 Lunch – 2000 Vietnam No. 21, Dinner – PPI Fried Chicken, Steamed Asparagus, and Baked Potato and Clafoutis

 August 20, 2020 Lunch – 2000 Vietnam No. 21,  Dinner – PPI Fried Chicken, Steamed Asparagus, and Baked Potato and Clafoutis

I awakened at 6:30 and watched Morning Joe.  It was a really slow news day until later in the morning when the US District Court in the subpoena case for President Trump’s financial ruled that the subpoena was not overly broad and ordered The financial records to be released.  Unfortunately Tump has two more appeals that will probably delay the release of Trump’s tax returns until after the election.

I ate a bowl of granola, milk, yogurt, and blueberries at 8:00 and watched the Market.  I decided t reduce my holding of Moderna from 1000 shares to 500 shares because it was continuing to drift downward perhaps because Johnson and Johnson has announced the start of a worldwide phase 3 test of its proposed vaccine in 60,000 subjects.

I guessed right because Moderna continued to be stalled while the 250 shares of JNJ rose more than $1.00/share.

The big tech stocks rebounded today and my portfolio rose almost 1%, another good day in the market. Over the last year my portfolio has risen 34%. My best annual return ever.

At 8:00 I rode five miles south with two sugar pills.

When I returned I dealt with car issues.   Jody was kind enough to help install a new battery in my mini and take the Prius for analysis on his computer.

At noon I drove to the bank and then 2000 Vietnam to pick up the two No. 21s I had ordered.  I drov

e back home and Willy met me and we ate lunch.  I added lots of fresh cilantro and basil and enjoyed ½ of the box of food.  Willy left after lunch and I put the remaining ½ in the fridge for tomorrow.

I then made myself a Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk and watched the last 15 minutes of the marketing cheered as several of my stocks made new highs, as did the NASDAQ.

I worked until 4:00 and then put three sweet potatoes and two russet potatoes in a 375 degree oven to bake for 45 minutes and then read the Grant biography for about ½ hour until the convention coverage began.

Suzette came home a few minutes after 5:00 hungry, so we started dinner. I had baked the potatoes and the Chicken has been two nights earlier, so all we had to do was to steam a handful of asparagus.

We had an open bottle of 2018 La Granja Spanish white blend of Viura and Verdejo grape juice that Suzette poured out.

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So dinner prep was super easy.  The only thing I did was go to the garden and pick six chives and cut them.while I sliced the chives into thin rounds while Suzette plated the chicken, asparagus, and potatoes and I poured the wine.

We enjoyed this meal tremendously, especially the chicken.

After dinner I made Clafoutis. I pitted 5 cups of cherries and drizzled them with cognac and Grand Marnier.

I measured it 8 T. of powdered sugar and sdded ½ tsp. Of salt and stirred the dry ingredients.  I added three eggs to the dry ingredients and then 3 cups of scalded half and half. 

I buttered and coated a ceramic baking dish with sugar and poured the liquid custard mix into the dish and spooned in the cherries and baked the dish in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes.  Here I’d how the Clafoutis looked when I removed it from the oven.

We ate small bowls of it while Joe Biden was speaking and at 10:00; we went to bed.  I blogged and Suzette slept.

Bon Appetit

 

August 19, 2020 Lunch – Hotdog from Costco, Dinner – Rueben Sandwiches with Cucumber and Onion salad

 August 19, 2020 Lunch – Hotdog from Costco, Dinner – Rueben Sandwiches with Cucumber and Onion salad

I woke up at 4:00 and went back to sleep at 5:00 and slept until 7:30.

I ate granola, milk, blueberries and yogurt for breakfast and had a meeting with a client and then walked ½ mile.

I rested until 10:30 and then showered and dressed and drove to Pastian’s Bakery and bought a loaf of German Whole wheat bread.

Then I drove to Costco and shopped for a few items, including a 500 gram wheel of brie, a 3 lb. log of Jimmie Dean Sausage, a Greek yogurt, a bottle of Croft Ruby Port, a bottle of Acrobat Pinot Gris from the Willamette Valley, a container of shampoo, a container of Conditioner, and a prescription.

After I paid I bought a piece of pizza and a hot dog at Costco’s food service counter and drove to Shahin’s office.  We ate lunch at his desk.

Then I did a little research for his assistant and drove home.

It was 94 degrees as I drove home, so I rested when I returned home in our cooler bedroom until 4:00 and then turned on Mad Money.  I lost .2%, which was not so bad unless it was the beginning of a downturn in the market.  Before going to bed to blog tonight I established stop limit sales orders on many of my stocks, just in case the market turns down.

I forgot to meditate at 5:00 due to looking at the coverage of the democratic convention.

Reuben Sandwiches 

We were hungry so I sliced Jarlsberg cheese while Suzette buttered two slices of bread for each of our sandwiches and lay slices of Jarlsburg cheese on the side of each slice facing up and fetched and heated a small pot of pork and sauerkraut.  I made a Russian dressing by adding mayo, pickle relish, and catsup to the PPI crab dressing I made last Sunday.  Then I , went to the garage and fetched two Modelo pale ale beers.  

Suzette lay Slices of cheese on each piece of toast and cooked the bread until the outside was crisp and the cheese slices melted. When the pork was heated Suzette lay a thick layer of pork and sauerkraut on top of the melted  cheese on one piece of bread and Russian dressing on top of it and lay the other slice of bread on top cheese side down to form a sandwich.

She cut each sandwich in half and garnished each plate with a ramekin filled with cucumber and red onion salad dressed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.  

We enjoyed our sandwiches and beers as we watched the Democratic Convention.  Later I made a second sandwich and ate the rest of the cucumber salad.

I think we did not want to cook today because we had been running around in the heat and I had created a reasonable dinner option by buying the German Whole wheat bread, which provided us the ability to create a new dish and use some of the bucket of PPI Pork and sauerkraut.  We may be eating many more Reuben Sandwiches in the near future.  

We went to bed at 10:00 after Kamala’s speech.

Bon Appetit

August 18, 2020 Lunch – PPI Bun Cha Gio No 21 from 2000 Vietnam. Dinner – Fried Chicken Thighs with Tomato and Chard Couscous and Steamed Broccoli

August 18, 2020 Lunch – PPI Bun Cha Gio No 21 from 2000 Vietnam. Dinner – Fried Chicken Thighs with Tomato and Chard Couscous and Steamed Broccoli 

I awakened at 5:00 to watch the pre-market stock trades and Morning Joe.  Suzette woke up s little later and suggested that since we were up before sunrise, we could go watch the beavers. So I at a bowl of granola, yogurt, milk, and blueberries and then we dressed and drove to Kit Carson Park around 6:00 and walked to the beaver pond in the Bosque.  This was a good morning because Suzette saw two beavers and I saw one. We also saw a flock of Canadian geese land in the pond.

Me walking out of the Bosque at sunrise

We returned home a bit after 7:00 and decided to cook the five chicken thigh we had bought in our last order Suzette went to work and I watched some market action, until I decided to stand pat on all my positions, even though Apple was several dollars negative.  As it turned out Apple came back snd ended positive for the day.  In fact today was historic because both the S & P and the NASDAQ both finished at all time highs eclipsing their former highs on February 19, 2020 before the bottom fell out of the market.  

The questioned asked of one of the traders today was, “Do you intend to sell?”  The trader answered, “I intend to stay on the bus, but I am making sure I am sitting by the exit.”

That is how I feel.  I see nothing to stop the upward trajectory of the market but one never knows when things can change and one must be willing to make a hasty exit when conditions do change.

A bit after noon I ate the PPI Bun Cha Gio No 21 from 2000 Vietnam left from yesterday’s Lunch. After lunch I made myself a Vietnamese iced coffee with a heaping T. of Nestle Lechera condensed milk and the leftover coffee brewed this morning.

I then watched the Market close and discovered that Apple and several other of the big tech stocks had recovered.  In fact Amazon was really brilliant, gaining over $130.  This and a couple other gainers resulted in a daily gain of .033% and a new all time high for my portfolio.

The market has been on fire in August. My portfolio has risen over 7.5% since August 1, 2020, an average year’s gain in the last 14 trading days and more than I have earned in any of the last few years from legal services

I rested and dozed in the afternoon arising at 4:30.  

Suzette arrived and showered and then joined me to watch the news.

When we were sitting we discussed dinner.  We had examined the meat we ordered in the morning when returned from our trip to the Bosque and decided to cook the chicken thighs. Suzette took two flats of pork steaks to work and I butchered I flat that turned out to be mostly bone joints and only about 2/3 usable meat that I bagged and froze for Posole or a stew or stir frying.

As we sat together in the evening I suggested steaming some of the fresh broccoli and making Couscous with several of the tomatoes we bought.  Suzette suggested adding some chard from our garden, so we went outside and picked Chard and basil and a sweet pepper.

Unfortunately, we discovered that someone or thing has been stealing our tomatoes.p, which upset Suzette. Whoever or whatever is taking our produce, I hope you enjoy it.

Couscous

When we returned to the kitchen Suzette cleaned the items and cut the pepper in half.  I finely minced the pepper and de-stemmed and cut the basil and Chard leaves into bite-sized pieces along with 3 oz. of red onion.

I then sautéed the pepper and onion in 3 T. of butter in a 2 quart sauce pan and after a couple of minutes added the tomatoes.  I heated water to a boil in the tea kettle. Then I added 1 cup of dry Couscous to the pot to coat with butter and after another minute added 1 3/4cups of boiling water to the pot and cooked the Couscous for several minutes to steam it.  I then turned iPod the heat because Suzette still needed to cook the fried chicken in the oven for twenty minutes.

When I checked the Couscous twenty minutes later it was perfectly cooked, having absorbed the steam and heat.

 

Bobby Flay Chicken

Suzette removed the excess fat from the five thighs and coated them with flour p, salt, and pepper by shaking them in a plastic bag containing those ingredients.

She then sautéed the coated thighs in about ¼ inch of bacon fat weighted by a skillet filled with water for about 15 to 20 minutes.  She then placed the sautéed thighs on a cookie sheet and baked them in a 350 degree oven for 20 more minutes.

When there were 10 minutes of cooking time left I started the broccoli steaming.

When the chicken was ready Suzette plated the plates with broccoli, Couscous, and a chicken thigh.

I opened a bottle of 2018 La Granja Verdejo and Viura Spanish white grape blend that is my favorite every day wine with chicken.  It is a pleasant wine that is reasonably priced at $5.99 at Trader Joe’s.

 

 This was another feel good comfort food meal. 

We watched the Democratic Convention.  Suzette brought home a lavender pound cake. So later she made a blueberry compote and spread it over slices of pound cake.

 

Today’s dinner turned out to be delicious and very spontaneous.

Bon Appetit

August 17, 2020 Lunch – 2000 Vietnam No. 21, Dinner – Pork and Sauerkraut and Mashed Potatoes

 August 17, 2020 Lunch – 2000 Vietnam No. 21,  Dinner – Pork and Sauerkraut and Mashed Potatoes 

I slept until 8:00.. I then walked without sugar pills or breakfast but after I walked three blocks I realized my error and turned around.

When I got home I toasted a small whole wheat bagel, spread cream cheese on the two halves, lay a thin slice of red onion on each half and loaded flakes of Whitefish on the onion and drank a cup of Earl Grey tea.

At 10:30 I called Peter Eller to setup a lunch.  He agreed to eating a No. 21 from 2000 Vietnam. I then took off and drove to the library to pick up Grant, the biography by Ron Chernow.

I then drove to the bank and got my signature notarized and then ordered two No. 21s from 2000 Vietnam and two extra containers of fish sauce and then drove to 2000 Vietnam and picked up the order and drove home.

When I arrived home I called Peter and then made two Vietnamese iced coffee. When Peter arrived I went to the garden and picked a dozen basil leaves.

When I returned to the kitchen I fetched the fresh bunch of cilantro from the fridge. We sat at the dining room table and ate lunch.

Peter left a bit before 3:00 and I checked my portfolio and was pleasantly surprised that my portfolio gained .3% to reach a new high.

I then tried to reach a concrete contractor and filled in and mailed my absentee ballot for the general election..

Then I called Suzette and got the recipe for pork and sauerkraut.  I put 12 oz. of sauerkraut into the bottom of a large pot, then added the 5 lb. pork leg plus 2 carrots diced, 1 onion diced, and 24 oz. of Sauerkraut.

I then filled the pot with water to cover the ingredients and covered the pot and baked the dish at 325 degrees from 4:10 until 8:00.

At 7:00 suzette made mashed potatoes and we ate at 8:00 with a Guinness Blanc beer.

The meat was still a little tough so we cooked it until 10:00.  Here is what it looked like at 10:00.

Bon Appeti

Here is a picture 

August 16, 2020 Lunch – Eggs, Bacon, and Calabacitas. Dinner – PPI Eggplant Parmigiana with Spaghetti

 August 16, 2020 Lunch – Eggs, Bacon, and Calabacitas. Dinner – PPI Eggplant Parmigiana with Spaghetti

This was an exceedingly lazy day for me.  Suzette worked in the garden while I watched the news programs and ate a breakfast of granola, milk, yogurt, and blueberries.

The most exciting thing we did today was soak in the freshly cleaned and filled hot tub at 10:30

At 11:30 we fixed a brunch of Eggs, Bacon, and Calabacitas.  Suzette Fried the last two or three slices of bacon and then sautéed ¼ diced zucchini.  I added a bag of kale and arugula from our garden and finally Suzette added three stirred eggs.  The dish ended up a scramble rather than an omelet, but quite delicious, especially with slices of avocado and a generous dash or four of Cholula hot sauce.

My open face burrito

Suzette’s burrito

I rested after brunch until Suzette awakened me for our weekly 2:00 family Zoom meeting.

After our zoom meeting I read the New Yorker and dozed until 5:30.

I then went to the kitchen and made 36 chocolate chip cookies with raisins, chocolate chips and toasted pecans.

After I finished baking cookies, Suzette heated up two bowls of PPI spaghetti covered with the last of the Grilled Eggplant Parmigiana she made last night.

We watched 60 Minutes, then a wonderful documentary on photos of the British Royal Family and finally at 8:00 a two hour episode of Endeavor, the new season of PBS’ mystery series.

We went to bed at 10:00.

Bon Appetit

August 15, 2020 Lunch – Bagel with Gravad Lax. Dinner – Grilled Eggplant Parmigiana with Three Cucumber and Red Onion Salad

 August 15, 2020 Lunch – Bagel with Gravad Lax. Dinner – Grilled Eggplant Parmigiana with Three Cucumber and Red Onion Salad

We cleaned the house a bit this morning and I helped carry empty bottles to Suzette’s vehicle to take to the recycler.

I then ate a breakfast of granola, blueberries, yogurt, and milk.

At 11:00 I was hungry so I toasted two slices of bagel, spread them with cream cheese and garnished them with red onion and Gravad lax slices.

At noon Scott came by for a visit and Suzette took pictures to Michael’s for framing and bottles for recycling.

I put out Italian olives and roasted peanuts and we sat outside under the trees in a light breeze.

The visit lasted until 4:00ish.  Suzette had arrived before Scott left so after he left we decided to cook dinner.  The menu was simple.  We wanted to use the two eggplants we grew in our garden and the fresh tomatoes Suzette brought home, grown in the garden at her center.  Suzette has also brought lots of cucumbers from her garden in Los Lunas that we planned to make into a cucumber and onion salad.  So a wonderful fresh vegetarian meal.

The first thing I did was prep the chunky tomato sauce Suzette wanted to put over the grilled eggplant slices to bake into the dish.  

I Chopped a sweet onion and five cloves of garlic, which Suzette began sautéing. I then sliced seven or eight portobello mushrooms, which were added to the sauce.  Then I diced six or seven tomatoes of varying degrees of freshness.  Suzette went to the garden and picked a basket full of basil leaves and I de-stemmed them and sliced them into thin strips and added about 1/3 cup of basil strips to the sauce.  Suzette simmered the sauce for twenty or thirty minutes during which she sliced the two eggplants into ½ inch slices and grilled them on our outdoor propane grill and I peeled, seeded, and diced the three different cucumbers. Here is a picture.

The sauce with mushrooms just added

Fresh basil from the garden

I then sliced and diced and added to the cucumbers about 4 oz. of red onion and 2 oz. of fresh mozzarella cubes.

Suzette dressed the salad with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.

After the eggplant slices were grilled, Suzette placed them in a 9 x 13 inch Pyrex baking dish alternating between each slice, a slice of fresh mozzarella.  She then spooned the chunky tomato sauce over the eggplant and mozzarella slices.  I then grated Parmesan cheese on top of the dish and Suzette baked the eggplant Parmigiana in the oven for another thirty minutes.  Willy arrived around 5:30 and we ate soon after in the patio under the awning due to the sudden fiercely blowing wind that often presages rain. 

.Suzette opened a bottle of Pizzania Chianti and I poured glasses and chillier them with ice.

Suzette put a pile of PPI spaghetti on each late and then several baked eggplant slices and a spoonful of two of the sticky tomato and mozzarella sauce.

We enjoyed a lovely meal, but within fifteen minutes after we finished and cleared the table and said goodnight to Willy, around 8:00 there was a cloudburst of rain.

We had seen the Father Brown episode re-run on TV so we watched The Lincoln Lawyer, a movie suggested by my cousin Audrey, who is 89 and living in an assisted living facility and still very alert.

We liked the movie very much and when it ended at 10:00 we went to bed.

Bon Appetit

August 14, 2020 Lunch – Crab, ham, and egg Noodle Soup. Dinner – New Recipe Baked Pork Scaloppini with Mozzarella and Ratatouille over spaghetti

 August 14, 2020 Lunch – Crab, ham, and egg Noodle Soup. Dinner – New Recipe  Baked Pork Scaloppini with Mozzarella and Ratatouille over spaghetti 

I spent most of the day watching the market and TV news.  I talked two two clients, but did no significant legal work.  What was fascinating was the market activity as it went down and finally up at the end of the day. My portfolio after a lot of consternation ended within $200.00 of where it started.  

For lunch I made a soup that approximated a soup my mother used to make with crab meat, diced ham and egg clouds.  I used the crab stock Suzette has made on Sunday and added a bundle of fresh egg white noodles, some mushroom slices, onion, a T. of red miso, a diced Baby Bok Choy, and finally a mixture of four egg yolks, 1 tsp. Soy sauce and 1 T. of Aji Mirin and 1tsp. of sesame oil.

I met with Ron Elguera, mother’s friend and listened to his concerned and said I would try to help legally.

Suzette came home at 4:30 and made several suggestions.  It is a time of real hardship and uncertainty for many people.

So far my family and I have been spared.

I had thawed two boneless pork sirloins, so Suzette suggested making a sort of pork Parmigiana. I pounded the pork steaks flat. They fit perfectly in a 9x9 Pyrex baking dish. Then Suzette covered the three pork scallopini with slices of fresh mozzarella.  Then she poured the rest of the Ratatouille over the lice’s mozzarella and we sprinkled 2/3 cup of grated Pecorino Romano cheese on top and baked the dish in the steaming oven.

While the pork dish was cooking Suzette boiled 2/3 lb. of spaghetti.

When the spaghetti and pork dish were cooked we put spaghetti in a pasta dish and covered it with the 

pork Ratatouille and grated more cheese on top.

This was an easy dish to fix because we had the Ratatouille prepped. This recipe is a good example of using PPIs creatively.

We poured out the rest of the 2018 Pizzania Chianti which was delicious with the dinner.

Afterwards I ate a piece of chocolate cake and stayed up a bit of the night.

Willy came by at 8:30 and ate the last 1/3 of the dish.

Bon Appetit