Ok. I'll try this again.

What's the black thing called? Some kind of rice cake?

well...just a little bit of searching, but i dont know if its correct.

Konnyaku
"Konnyaku is a traditional Japanese jelly-like health food made from a kind of potato called "Konnyaku potato" and calcium hydroxide or oxide calcium extracted from eggshells."

Thanks. I've seen some images with this food item. I'll just tag them as such when I come across them.

Hmm... I don't think this is Sakura. Her hair looked different to me at first, and now that I notice, her eye color is different too. Anyone know what character this is?

I don't, but you're right that it's not Sakura.