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!

I was in Columbus for quite a long time, but we were all well fed by my mom’s cooking the whole time. Here are some of the highlights. Her famous spring rolls! As usual, they kicked ass. We accidentally bought the wrong noodles (cellophane noodles instead of rice noodles), but they were still darn good.

Spam fried rice! This happens to be a favorite of my brother. I’m not nearly as into it as he is, and he is also a SPAM freak, but I like it. With egg on top and ketchup. It totally takes us back to our childhoods.

Some spicy kimchi soba noodles. A ridiculously easy dish of soba noodles, chopped up kimchi and maybe some cucumber, and some kochujang. Maybe a little sesame oil, soy, sugar too. It’s great for a hot day, which most of the days in Columbus were.

A big bowl of kalguksu. Kalguksu literally translates to knife noodles (kal is knife, guksu is noodles). The noodles are thick wheat noodles that were traditionally hand-cut with knives. They don’t exactly do that these days. The dish isn’t the most flavorful, so we eat it with kimchi. Everything tastes better with kimchi!

My mom also made another big batch of dumplings, or as we call them, mandu. Here are some of the little half-moon beauties after being steamed.

We also ate some on another day in soup. Manduguk literally means dumpling soup. Mandu is dumpling, guk is soup. See, you’re all getting a free korean lesson.

A little bowl of spicy dubu jjigae. That’s tofu stew to you. Can you figure out what means tofu and what means stew? Congrats! You’re well on your way to be fluent in food korean.

And a random smattering of banchan and other dishes. Some galbi or bulgogi, I don’t even remember which it was anymore. Some of the japchae, whose recipe I shared with you earlier. Some marinated cucumbers, whose recipe I will soon share. And some marinated file fish. The file fish, or juipo, was languishing in my brother’s freezer for who knows how long. So my mom freed them from their frozen cell and promptly led them into our bellies.

After some more exploring in Short North, we got hungry again and stopped by Tasi for a late brunch. It’s tucked away in an alley off of the main High Street strip. It is a casual place where you order at the counter and they bring the food to you when ready. They aim for seasonal, all natural, and healthy dishes. They also have a variety of breads and pastries baked daily.

The bro’s Italian Stallion sandwich! Mortadella, salami, coppa, sweet peppers, onions, and tomato aioli served in an olive oil loaf.  A delicious italian hoagie-like sandwich!

My ma’s toasted croissant sandwich with fried egg, canadian bacon, and swiss cheese, served with a side of fresh fruit.

My Huevos Rancheros with black bean cake. These black bean cakes were basically quesadillas, but instead of being filled with cheese and chicken or something, it’s filled with a little cheese and crushed black beans. What a fantastic idea. And instead of being eaten with salsa, you eat it with the accompanying poached eggs and sauce, gravy, or whatever you want to call it. I don’t know what this stuff is, but I know it tastes good and I loved it. The whole dish was new and great. The staff is nice and friendly. There’s little interaction with them since it’s a get-a-number and mostly serve yourself kind of place. W found this gem from a local Columbus blog, and we’re glad she did!