Roasted Tomato Soup

Roasted Tomato Soup – courtesy of Wise Shellie

  • 2 lbs tomatoes
  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled and whole
  • 1/4 medium red onion
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 2 sprigs oregano, remove leaves from stem
  • 3 -4 basil leaves
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 2 cups vegetable broth, 2 cups chicken broth, or 2 cups water
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shaved or grated (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Wash and cut tomatoes, placing in a shallow baking dish cut side down.
  3. Add onion pieces, garlic, oregano and basil to the pan.
  4. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
  5. Season with salt and pepper.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes.
  7. Place roasted vegetables in food processor bowl or blender and begin puree. Slowly add broth or water until soup has desired consistency. Continue blending until smooth.
  8. An immersion blender also works very well. (If you warm the broth first, the soup will be hot without reheating.).
  9. Serve garnished with cheese if desired.

Willamette Valley Wines

Willamette Valley Wines

This company has been around for a long time. They sell wine online, but also distribute under the Griffin Creek Tualatin Estates & Willamette Valley Vineyard labels. Their sales have been increasing, up to 25%/year. They’ve increased over the last 6 years in general -336.3 million cases sold in 2016, 20% more than 2015. People like wine, and since we like to “buy what we know” this fits the bill. I can’t remember the last time we didn’t have an open bottle of wine at our meeting.

As a club we are constantly searching for small cap companies, this happens to be a nano-cap company, and fits the “tiny” bill. It is a winery in Turner, OR and buying nearby is always an added bonus. WVVI’s grapes are grown in vineyards owned, leased or contracted by the company. This Oregonian location for a vineyard could prove to be beneficial since much of CA is swimming these days.

This company has historically had a healthy growth rate and a healthy growth rate is expected. We always look at the 52 week range to see if we think the company is in a promising ‘buy’ range – WVVI’s range is $6.75-$9. Valueline gives WVVI a financial strength of B.

Sales have increased since 2012. The graph looks healthy. It seems promising. Who doesn’t love wine? I feel like we are always taking a bit of a chance purchasing a small cap company but the shares are cheap!

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Disney Stock Report January 2017

Disney has literally been with me my entire life as well our children and even my grandparents held Disney in their heart for their entire life. Founded in 1923 Disney has held a major piece of America’s identity.
So, what makes this company so great and what exactly do they own. Home to four major film studios: Walt Disney Animation, Pixar (Pixar purchased in 2006 for 7.4 Billion), Marvel (marvel purchased in 2009 for 4Billion) and now Lucas film (Lucas Film purchased in 2012 for 4.06Billion).

Disney also has a piece of the music production, controlling the record label Hollywood records with Sabrina Carpentar, Zendaya Queen, Demi Lovato and so many more.
The Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media section has over 400 locations worldwide, as well as brand merchandise from feature films and Disney.com

Brands you didn’t know were owned by Disney –
This one blew my mind. This past year, my favorite show to watch lately has been VICE. They have an HBO TV Show that talks about news from around the world as well as a TV show called Viceland that really touches the lives of the people their documenting. VICE focus on truth and authentic journalism. (Disney gave Vice 400M to help get that dream started) What I didn’t realize about Vice was they also have a book publishing and music recording wing which released albums from Snoop Dogg and my favorite the Raveonettes. Now Disney doesn’t truly own VICE, but they do have a partnership with them.
On a side note – There was talk about VICE as an IPO, nothing yet. But my eye is on them when Vice Media LLC steps into the stock market.

They also own Touchstone Film – Some big releases from there were Splash, Good Morning, Vietnam, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Dead Poets Society, The Nightmare Before Christmas to name a few.
In 1996 ABC bought ABC for 19 Billion and since ABC owned ESPN they own that station too. Part of that purchase was A&E, History Channel and Lifetime which they own half of Hearst corporation owns the other half. Maker Studios is owned by Disney as well.

And of course, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts around the world as well as a very popular cruise line. Now you know a little bit more about who they are, but should you invest. The answer is yes. Disney here are a few more articles I found about the positive future for Disney:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/disney-stock-added-to-evercores-top-pick-list-for-2017-2017-01-03
This past year the sock price did decline, A few reasons they state as to why – New tax breaks, Disney opened a successful new theme park in Shanghai for 5.5 Billion. Dominated the box office with four top highest grossing films
If you’re purchasing for long term – Disney is a good stock selection. Disney has stood the test of time while still outperforming the market over the long term.
http://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/22/2-stocks-you-can-buy-and-hold-forever.aspx