Here we have a two-for-one recipe special, a first ever on foodzings. Both of these dishes are so easy, that even I could make them. So we’ll start first with a cucumber side dish. It’s a tangy little banchan of freshly pickled cucumbers, with a bit of spice.

We start off with a few pickling cucumbers. Half them lengthwise, then slice them.

Throw them in a bowl along with some thinly sliced onion.

Throw a little salt over this and mix it around a little bit.

Chop up a sprig or two of green onion.

Throw these into the bowl, along with a bit of sugar. Mix again.

Then we only have two more things to add – kochukaru (korean chili powder) and white vinegar.

The more kochukaru you add, the spicier it will be. The more vinegar you add, the tangier it will be. Put in however much you like! That’s it!

Ok, moving right along to our second dish, sweet red bean buns. Correction, the easiest sweet red bean buns you will ever make. These are super tasty and super easy to make. Seriously, they don’t get easier than this. So if you like pastries, and if you like sweet red bean, then keep on reading. If not, then click away.

Here are the ingredients – crescent roll mix and a can of sweet red beans. Seriously that’s it. This is a two ingredient dish. I told you it was easy.

So you take a piece of the crescent, and spoon some sweet red bean in there.

You close it up so that it forms a little bun.

Place the buns seam-side down on a cookie sheet. How long to cook these? At what temperature? I have no idea. Just follow the crescent instructions and don’t burn them. The bottom has a tendency to burn, so keep an eye on them.

Eat them when they’re fresh out of the oven! Ok, so I don’t know if these buns are really korean, but since my mom is korean, and she made them, I’m going to call them korean. Or at least korean-esque. All I know is that they’re good and beyond easy!

San Francisco has Bi-Rite Creamery and Humphrey Slocombe, Austin has Amy’s Ice Cream, and Delaware has Woodside Farm Creamery. In Columbus, Ohio, it’s all about Jeni’s Ice Cream. They’ve got a little bit of a dynasty going on here, and people are fine with waiting in long lines. You can also buy pints in Whole Foods.

All of the cream for these artisinal ice creams come from Snowville Creamery, in Meigs County, Ohio. There, a small herd of cows eat a variety of grasses. There are no antibiotics, growth hormones, herbicides, or pesticides necessary. The ingredients that go into their variety of flavors are found in the ohio countryside, whenever possible, or are sourced from responsibly-raised exotics from around the world. In other words, they put serious love into every batch.

All of the sauces, pralines, and marshmallows are also made in-house. And do they have a random variety of flavors! They happily give out samples, so I tried my fair share. So here’s a quick rundown of the more unusual ones I tried. Queen City Cayenne – deep chocolate with a crazy burning spice at the end. Did not enjoy. Kona Stout – like burnt coffee grounds. Wasn’t crazy about this either. Mackenzie Creamery Goat Cheese with Roasted Red Cherries – tastes like goat cheese. What was I thinking, I don’t like goat cheese! Backyard Mint – not sweet, and very minty, like toothpaste. Not for me!

I ended up getting a trio of Salty Caramel, Sweet Corn & Black Raspberries, and Riesling Poached Pear. The salty caramel is like the salted caramel from bi-rite, which I just love. It’s my crack! The sweet corn didn’t have as much corn flavor as I would have liked, but I still liked it. The black raspberries were fresh and tart. And the pear sorbet was so fresh and tasted exactly like pear, it was crazy. We stopped by the Dublin location because that was the one closest to my bro’s house. And is it freakin adorable. There is a good amount of seating and the ice cream slingers were nice and patient.

While in Yachats the day before, we’d discovered this sweet coffee house across the way from Luna. On our continuing journey north on the coast to our next destination, Depoe Bay, we had to stop for some morning treats at Green Salmon Coffee and Tea House. So this place is, um, y’know, run by hippies. There’s no other way to say it. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But it’s not a hipster coffee house. It’s a hippie coffee house. They run their shop in as green a way as possible. Among others, they buy locally, compost everything, collect rainwater for cleaning and watering, have a solar power system, heat using local wood, and have a no plastic pledge, etc. They actually practice what they preach. And there’s nothing sleep or modern about this place. It’s warm, homey, and has tons of mismatched furniture. And I like it that way.

They’re all about the fair trade and organic coffee and tea here and they have plenty you can pick up to make at home. But it’s the drinks that they make here that set this place apart. They have tons of coffee, hot chocolate, and tea concoctions, with strange combinations, that really make this place special.

Ok, no, I lied. It’s their damn pastries that make this place so special. Everything is made in-house using local ingredients, whenever possible. And look at these things! They’re huge, cheap, and oh so delicious! You can’t tell how big these things are, but trust me, they are the size of your head!

Here we have J’s Oregonian at the top – espresso with lightly sweet steamed oregon hazelnut milk. At the bottom is my Hokusai Cocoa – rice milk hot chocolate with japanese matcha green tea. Both were delicious! The day before, we’d gotten a Tsunami to-go – strong, brewed iced coffee with a sweetened float of condensed milk. And behold their blueberry scone. I’m not that well versed in scones, but this was not your average scone. It was more like a giant triangular muffin, and it was beyond delicious. It was big enough to keep both of our sweet tooths satisfied.

The service is ok. The guy with the ponytail wasn’t the most friendliest. I think he sensed that we were not hippies or locals, so he didn’t exactly warm up to us. One of the girls who works in the back actually making things was one big giggler. All she did was giggle both times we were there. Like non-stop. I wonder what was making her giggle so much? And exactly how much of it was she smoking? Another girl who waited on us was much friendlier. While I’m sure they’re happy with the tourists that stop in and the money they drop, it really does seem like a local hangout. We even overheard someone telling a customer he still had $1.77 on his account. I know that if I lived in Yachats or nearby, I’d stop by here all the time! And I’d probably gain 10 lbs from all the pastries!