no, despite my official new intentions to post more about Pittsburgh related items and be more useful as a blogger, (perhaps offer some kind of information now and again instead of boring old pics?), I will not be ceasing to post food photos; however, the sun sets at an ungodly hour now, which means you will see hardly a decent photograph taken in natural light for the next six months. thank you, Pittsburgh. to bid farewell, I’ve included the last several photos from my camera at the end of this post.. it’s been good eats recently but lazy photos..

on a seperate note, the Patriots are still undefeated. in case you didn’t notice.

on a seperate seperate note, I am trying to buy a house. I decided to make a tag for it, even though I am note quite ready to discuss the details (don’t want to jinx anything!) but hopefully I will soon be writing about the trials and tribulations of original single pane windows and how I can’t afford my gas bill since I can’t afford new windows. and maybe advice for fellow Pittsburgh homeowners, or something.

whatever, you’re probably just here for the food..

homemade tarka dhal with wild rice and some zucchini; the tarka dhal is from a recipe I found online on a blog I’ve long forgotten. first attempt; note to self- don’t simmer all the liquids away from the lentils before finishing the dish:

you’se seen this dish before, but hell, it tastes awesome and it’s a really sunny photo, isn’t it? hot sauce tempeh nuggets and some salt & peppered greens:

ordinary tofu scramble with a bunch of chipolte pepers thrown in:

and why not some dessert? this is the only picture I have of these brownies even though I’ve made them three times now.. they are from Peter Berley’s Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. I’m iffy about posting book-recipes online but suffice it to say I found it with a little google reconaissance, hint hint. simply the best brownies I’ve ever had. previously touted Sinfully Vegan brownies come in at a close (and less fat-filled) second, but.. shiiiit. I’ll never bother with an ordinary brownie recipe again. (but I will try these soon..):

dark chocolate no-bake cookies:

peanut butter silk pie (from Vegan With a Vengeance):

and lastly, a batch of mini blueberry muffins I mailed to my brother; recipe is a mish mash of ones I’ve collected. the important thing is to top them with something that gets crunchy after baking, like raw sugar:

So there’s this new place close to work where I can get lunch. Let me tell you about it.

It’s called DumplinZ Cafe. With a “Z.” And all the things on the menu (this is where you click on that link and see for yourself) have cutesy names that are kind of annoying.

If you can get past that, though, it’s not a bad place to grab a lunch. The menu concept is: things wrapped in dough. Not just traditional “dumplings” (perhaps that’s why the “DumplinZ” moniker — copyright issues with the dumplings people) but raviolis and pierogies and stuff like that. I usually get pierogies, because that’s the kind of thing I like, right?

It’s a tiny bit pricy for what you get, I think, and there could be a little less fixin’s on each serving (I like that there’s sour cream and mushrooms and onions, but maybe a little less of each?) but on the whole it’s halfway decent. The people are pleasant, albeit still experiencing some new-restaurant bugs. The decor is just a step short of hilarious, with pictures of ‘plinz of all sorts dotting the walls (credited to Dumplinz Graphics, no less).

But yeah — three stars out of four maybe, or something like that? It’s something different, which is appreciated. It’s half a block from my building, which also garners it some points. Slightly larger portions and less cutesy terminology would gain it some more (but of course, the menu board and all that are already bought — might as well stick with it now . . .). I hope it survives and thrives on the hunger of ‘plin-starved office drones like myself!

DumplinZ Cafe: 411 Seventh Ave. (the Chamber of Commerce Building, but it’s actually facing onto Smithfield, between Bruegger’s and Duquesne Light). 412-281-6062.