Is he back?

Oh yes I am back, let's do this. And did you know that I have a new site, it's at http://jbmarwood.com
Check it out, OK?

Well, well, well the new blogger is pretty good, I like it. Shame it was so bad before that I had to leave.

Just as well I left a pretty good poem on here though.

Oh well.

Thurday 26th March

Well I did manage to get my account back up to GBP6000 but I have recently lost it all in just over a month. I seem to make the same mistakes every single day. Will i ever learn?

Today I sold the high and bought the low. Yesterday I sold the high. Yet on both occassions i lost money. By cutting my trade when it was offside by a small amount i was too afraid to follow my conviction and i duly lost money.

I seem to have tried everything. I have put everything into this business but still I cannot get it to work. And it is the same old mistakes that destroy me.

Today is another day. Yet what am I to do? I have 400GBP left, no money in my bank account, no food in my fridge and I live in a town I wish I didnt. Life is not great and it has been this way for a while.

'Feel the fear and do it anyway'. This is what I need to do but can I do it? Let us hope so as it is my only chance.

Thursday 9th October

Trading is the name of the game. I am desperate to get on my own screen. I have decided not to trade until I am on my own screen. Due to a bad start my account stands at GBP 3648.

I will use this blog to document my trades and get my account back up to 6k.
My stop loss limit will be +- 400 GBP and I will be trading FTSE and BUND.

Today: A lot less volatile than previous days which is not necessarily a good thing, however, I will try and get back to the fundamentals and put on a couple of winning trades when I am on my own screen.

01 July

Just watched goodnight sweetheart with nicholas lyndhurst and had stir fry. An old one but still very good.
Ginger, garlic, harissa paste, chicken stock, mushrooms, beansprouts, basil and the key ingredient- peanut butter. Also very good.

If you are wondering what im up to, well I am in a flat in chelmsford having just moved here to take part in a futures trading course. Just finished the first day.
Made a make believe trade shorting the ftse which ended up making £700. If only it was really that easy.

There are two others on the course. A musician and another guy who looks remarkably like gareth gates. They seem a little naive imho when it comes to trading but yet nice enough. I will be hoping to outperform both of them in the coming weeks. Fingers crossed.

Gonna read a bit of a trading book in a sec and then after that catch some sleep.
Good night.

Lamb shank with sweet potato mash

This is recipe that is often used for osso bucco. Ive adapted it for a tender lamb shank with a tasty gravy. The gremolata is added last to give a freshness to the dish.

Serves 2

2 Lamb shanks

2 garlic cloves finely diced

1 onion finely diced

250ml of dry white wine

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of allspice

Flour

3 Sweet potatoes

3 maris piper potatoes

milk

Gremolata

1 tbsp of grated lemon zest

1 garlic clove finely diced

2 tbsp of freshly chopped flat leaf parsley

Heat a knob of butter and a tbsp of olive oil in a pan then cook the onions until translucent but now brown. Now add the garlic and cook til fragrant. Coat the lamb shanks in flour seasoned with salt and pepper and brown all over in the pan over a low heat. Be careful not to burn the garlic or onion at this point as they will taste bitter. If necessary brown the lamb in another pan then transfer.

Once the shanks are browned pour in the wine, give a stir then bring to the boil. Add the all spice and cinnamon then put the lid on now simmer for 15-20 minutes. Check the mixture and scrape up any bits off the bottom of the pan.

Chuck in 125ml of warm water, replace the lid, then cook for another 60minutes +. With cuts of this type the longer you give it the more tender it will be. You want to cook until you can easily cut it with a fork. Check the pan now and again to ensure there is enough liquid. If there is not enough, add more warm water.

30 mins before the end, boil some cubes of sweet potato and normal potato until they come apart with a fork.

Transfer to a bowl and mash, adding milk as you go.

Once the lamb shanks are tender remove for 2 mins and add half of the gremolata to the pan. Boil the sauce to thicken then return the shanks and heat through.

Transfer each shank to a bed of mash then spoon over the gravy and sprinkle the remaining gremolata on top.

Risotto with rocket and plum tomato

Serves 2-4

320g Aborio rice

Large knob of butter

1 onion finely diced

3 cloves of garlic finely diced

2 pints chicken stock

200g plum tomatoes

Rocket

Parmesan

1 Lemon

vermouth or dry white wine (optional)

Heat the stock (and wine) in a pan and simmer on a low heat.

Sprinkle the tomatoes with olive oil in a roasting pan and roast at 200

Heat the butter with a drop of olive oil till melted then cook the onion for 3-5 mins on a high heat. Chuck in the garlic and cook for a few mins until fragrant.

Now chuck in the rice and coat with the mixture. Season the rice and this point and cook for a few minutes.

In the meantime sprinkle the tomatoes with olive oil in a roasting pan and roast at 200 for about 15 mins but keep an eye on them to prevent burning.

Back to the risotto. Now turn down the heat a little and spoon a ladleful of stock over the rice so it just covers.

Keep stirring the rice to prevent it sticking to the bottom and simmer off the stock fairly quickly.

Whenever the rice is becoming dry add another ladleful of stock. Repeat the process until the rice is cooked but still retains some bite. (about 20 minutes).

Add the plum tomatoes and rocket to the risotto and stir around. Throw in a handful of fresh chopped herbs such as parsley or basil. Put the lid on the risotto for a few minutes to get creamy. You may want to stir in a little more olive oil and/or butter.

To serve spinkle over some fresh lemon juice, parmesan and plenty of black pepper.

A simple creamy risotto using good ingredients.

Rigatoni with sausage

The tubular pasta Rigatoni works best with this dish. It seems to capture the sausage really well

Serves 2

4 Sausages (Italian sausage is best)

Rigatoni pasta

300ml red wine

Bunch of thyme

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 onion chopped

1 tsp fennel seeds crushed (optional)

100g butter

Cook the onion and fennel seeds in the butter and a tbsp of olive oil until the onion is translucent but not quite brown. Skin the sausages then break up the sausage meat and put in the pan with the onion and add the garlic. Add the thyme. Cook the sausage for 5-6 mins until browned over a medium heat. Scrape the meat off the bottom of the pan as this adds to the flavour. Once the meat is nicely browned add the wine and cook off for about 4 minutes (until about half has evaporated).

Now add the passata and simmer for 10-15 mins.

Add the rigatoni to the sauce.