Black Forest Cake!

I'm not going to post the recipe here, just a link to where my sister found it at allrecipes.com.

I just wanted to post the photos of this gorgeously decadent cake that the two of us made to celebrate both my birthday and my dad's, which were a week and a week and a half ago, respectively! As fancy as it is, it wasn't actually that complicated. It didn't take that long, either, except for having to wait for the cake to cool to assemble the whole thing. We did it mostly according to the recipe directions - baked two layers and split those, but rather than crumbling one to coat the frosting on the outside of the cake, we just made four layers. We used two 14.5 oz cans of tart cherries rather than two 20 oz cans, but that turned out to be just the right amount. And the frosting, which was actually just three cups of heavy cream whipped to perfection with a bit of confectioner's sugar, was the perfect foil for the gooey cherry sauce and rich chocolate. No ice cream needed! Coffee definitely was...

Black Bean Salad

This is something my sister came up with a while ago. It's really tasty - a mix of rice, black beans, corn, and tomatoes, with a simple dressing flavored with mexican seasonings. It's cheap - dried beans and rice really stretch out! It's great for potlucks, because it just so happens to be gluten free, vegetarian (vegan, even) and dairy free. And since the dressing is just olive oil, lime juice and spices, it's okay to let it sit out on the picnic table for a few hours - no mayo to worry about.



Black Bean Salad

Mix together:

1 cup cooked rice (1/2 cup dry)
1 1/2 cup cooked black beans (1/2 cup dry)
2/3 cup cooked corn
1 1/2 cup small or cut-up tomatoes
2 green onions, chopped

Dressing:

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice
2 cloves garlic, put through a garlic press
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch red pepper flakes

Combine dressing ingredients in a jar or container with a tight lid and shake well. Pour over salad and mix well.
Tastes better if you wait a few hours - then make sure to stir it up from the bottom in case the dressing settles a bit. It lasts longer if you use whole grape or cherry tomatoes - cut-up tomatoes break down a lot faster, and you want to eat it within a day or two. Or you can leave the tomatoes out and just add them to individual servings. It's okay to let it sit out for a while, but it should be refrigerated other than that.

This makes about 5 cups - a good amount for a potluck.