Refried beans and a cake with balls

A cake with balls??? No, this isn't a typo in the title of this post, as you can see this cake does have balls. I felt it was necessary to put this photo at the top of the post to prove that I wasn't being rude. The title popped into my head and gave me a chuckle so I decided to stick with it.

It was the man's birthday earlier this week and due to his infatuation with my rum balls, choc-mint balls and jaffa balls, I had an idea a while ago to bake him a chocolate cake and adorn it with chocolately balls of different varieties. I decided to try the chocolate cake and frosting from The Joy of Vegan Baking; these recipes are detailed in the samples on the author Colleen Patrick Gordeau's website.

This cake was lovely and moist although I think the man would have been even more impressed if he was presented with one enormous jaffa or choc-mint ball!

As we are going out for dinner on the weekend with family, the man was happy to dine at home on his birthday night so I allowed him to choose whatever he would like to eat. It was no surprise to me that he selected Mexican as the cuisine although I wasn't expecting refried beans to be his request.

Naturally I decided to use my beloved Viva Vegan for the recipes and selected the standard refried beans, cilantro-lime rice, cashew crema, guacamole and winter salsa. The winter salsa uses tinned tomatoes and is a variation on the fresh tomato salsa recipe which I hadn't noticed before. Terry's explanation for this recipe variation sums up how I feel about tomatoes right now. Every time I stroll past tomatoes at the fruit & veg shop or supermarket I feel disgusted with the price and disappointed with the lack of quality so I keep on walking.

Once again, it was another successful Mexican night thanks to Viva Vegan and the man was happy with his choice. As I am such a thoughtful wife, I also made something special for dinner the night before his big day so he could have the leftovers for a tasty birthday lunch. This will have to wait until next post. For now, I will leave you with this easy peasy but tasty tomato salsa that works so well when you don't have any fresh tomatoes on hand. 

Winter Salsa (Adapted from Viva Vegan)

1 x 400g tin diced tomatoes
10 slices jalapeno peppers, diced
1 shallot, diced
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Drain some of the liquid from the tinned tomatoes and place them into a bowl. Stir through the other ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve.