7.07.2008

Wedding Vendor #4

Lemon Cookie with Honey Lavender and Dark Chocolate Cookie with Fresh Mint
We first caught wind of Lisa, creator of the now famous Ruby Jewel Treats, more than three years ago while traveling through Australia. We usually make it a point to avoid our fellow American brethren while traveling abroad, excusing our exclusivity with the notion: if we wanted to hang out with Americans, we would have stayed at home. That was until we found ourselves at a hostel in Brisbane, and we met Aaron and Jojo. We maintained our distance at first...whispering to one another, "Are they from the states?" "Should we talk to them?" "Do you think they like to drink?" You see, at the time we were nearly ten days into a self imposed "cleanse," during which we practiced yoga at least 2 hours a day, and ate only raw fruits and vegetables. Perhaps it was their down to earth nature, or maybe we were looking for an excuse to break from our healthy ways, but less than an hour after meeting those two we found ourselves sitting with them at a table, playing dominoes, drinking beers, and thoroughly enjoying our transition into a more illicit lifestyle. It wasn't long before we discovered that we shared a mutual connection, that being the city of Portland.
As it turned out, Jojo had a sister who was not only living in Portland, but had recently won a contest sponsored by the Food Innovation Center, from which she received seed money and consultation to start her own food business. When Jojo disclosed that her sister's winning recipe was a gourmet ice cream sandwich, our stomachs began grumbling with anticipation.
"So what's her business going to be called?" we were dying to know.
"Ruby Jewel Treats" Jojo replied.
Months passed and we continued our travels. In fact, though I am ashamed to admit it, by the time we returned home we had nearly forgotten about the ice cream sandwiches we once craved so badly. That was until one sunny summer evening we found ourselves at a co-op in Northwest Portland. We looked towards the sky only to see the words on the co-op's marquee shining down upon us like a beacon of hope:
"Now Selling Ruby Jewel Treats"
We were ecstatic, and eager to see for ourselves if the treats we had once longed for so badly, while so far away, would prove to be all we that had hoped. Our first sandwich was the Lemon Cookie with Honey Lavender. It was love at first bite.
Flash forward three years later, and we still can't get enough of these amazing desserts. As excited as we are to be able to share the deliciousness with our wedding guests, we are perhaps most privileged to be able to consider "the creator" and her family, our friends. Much thanks to Aaron, JoJo, Lisa, Becky, Elyse, and Company for being all natural and all good. XO

1 comment:

Silver Bee said...

haha yeah i've had the same experience travelling. avoiding other aussies!

msaims