some recent results from my kitchen

The photos are in reverse chronological order, because every time I post a photo, blogger puts it at the top of the manuscript, regardless of where my cursor is. It wasn't always like that.



seared fillet mignon over butter lettuce with mint and carrot yogurts, Burgundy mustard and creamy balsamic vinaigrette; pita bread and hummus. this meal would have been a starchless disaster, but my sister pointed out that since I already had mint in the refrigerator I could make hummus. thanks A!




stew







toast, marmalade, cappuccino







"Thai jambalaya" (anyone know a better name for this?)







liguine with lemon goat cheese sauce. I didn't have time to sit around and wait for a roux to thicken, so I used an egg yolk as an emulsifier. it actually worked pretty well. the wine is a cheap Burgundy I got at Trader Joe's; it was a lot better than I expected.







NASCAR food: stuffed jalapenos with homemade ranch dip and anchor steam in a frosty mug







sausage sandwich (idea ripped off from defalco's)







fried eggs







a more adventurous way to eat eggs. the coffee is not a prime example. I think it's from the melita.







pasta rustica with tomato sauce. I actually didn't care for these pasta from Coppola. They didn't cook well, because they have a thick core and thin pieces sticking out, so they turned out really uneven. But the sauce was good.







cinnamon toast breakfast







espresso with cream







Peet's Arabian mocha java (this is not an espresso drink and there is no steamed milk. The frothiness is a result of convection and deposition processes involving chilled heavy cream and fine sediment from the press pot brewing technique.)







rigatoni with fresh herbs and Oregon white truffles







nacho night







liguine with capers, anchovy and fresh basil; Kim Crawford marl. sauv. blan.







breakfast alla Zanzibar's Coffee Adventure (sub berry jam for marmalade)







liguine with capers, sausage with carrots







thick cut "Iowa" chop with green beans, mashers and pear sauce

taxes

Taxes are due in two days. It was one day, but (thankfully) they moved it from Monday the 16th to Tuesday the 17th. I think they did this just for me. I need help with my taxes, and I can't call for help today (Sunday). That means I'll be finishing up tomorrow and mailing them on the 17th. Actually, I'll try to finish a day early and get them out on the 16th, but I might not make it.

My situation is confusing. I live in Arizona right now, but I have intended to move back to Oregon as soon as I finish my PhD. So I have kept my Oregon driver's license and residence. I haven't registered to vote in AZ, either.

I thought I had all this solved. I just have to fill out AZ form 309 which lets me use my Oregon taxes as an Arizona credit. You see, the Oregon tax guide says that Oregon taxes ALL income on a full-year resident, regardless of where it was earned. Since Oregon taxes are higher than AZ taxes, this would mean my AZ taxes would be zero, after the credit for tax paid to another state.

However, when I started filling out my Oregon return, I realized no income had been withheld for Oregon. So I would send a BIG check to Oregon, then get a (not as) big check back from AZ. I thought, "That can't be right."

Finally, I found the following section in the Oregon tax manual:

Special-case Oregon residents. If you are an Oregon resident and you meet all of the following conditions, you are considered a nonresident for tax purposes.

* You are an Oregon resident who maintained a permanent home outside Oregon the entire year, and
* You did not keep a home in Oregon during any part of 2006, and
*You spent less than 31 days in Oregon during 2006.

That applies to me, so it looks like I am saved.

Note: If you read and enjoyed this entire post, you may also enjoy this.

amazing

While surfing the net for some sweet shots from Top Gun, I stumbled upon this elegant example of Engrish.