Made in Cincinnati

I have two exciting treats to share with you, both made right here in Cincinnati, Ohio, believe it or not. Both are relatively new, and both are worth some attention.

First up, graham crackers. No, not your regular thin, perforated crackers in cellophane that always rips down the side. Unlike those grahams that start crisp and get soft as they age (c’mon, you know what I’m talking about), these grahams start out thick and chewy and soft. And you don’t have to worry about them getting stale. There won’t be leftovers.

These holiday trees are delicious. I probably ate about half of one of these large cookies after photographing it because it just smelled so good! I couldn’t wait. The crushed peppermint, the chocolate icing, and the soft cookie were just amazing. I’d read how great these grahams were, but I never quite went for all the hype (after all, how often do I even eat dessert?) – but these are wonderful.

Meet Grateful Grahams. This is a pretty cool story; this woman turned her love of baking into a side business that only launched around Earth Day this year. Now, she’s announced on her facebook page that she can’t accept any more private holiday orders – she’s got enough! Way to go.

You can still buy Grateful Grahams locally, at Coffee Emporium, Park + Vine, Joseph Beth, or Lucky John Market. Plus you can order online at Pangea Vegan Store or Vegan Essentials. And I’m not going to say an Amazon link didn’t come up when I did a search.

If you can believe it, we have yet another vegan dessert maker in town: Phro*ZEN ice cream, featured last week in VegNews Daily.

Phro*ZEN vegan desserts was started with two sisters, the belief that everyone deserves happiness, and that happiness can be found in the simplest (and sweetest) things. We hope that you’ll find a little joy when you try our desserts, and you can feel at peace knowing that no animal products are used - after all, they deserve happiness too.

Again, I went for a holiday chocolate mint flavor: Merry Mint Chocolate Mantra. And I’m not going to say I wasn’t just tickled to see the cute heart under the lid -- sorry to spoil the surprise if it’s supposed to be a secret. This is a soymilk-based ice cream that was just as creamy as anything I’ve had, and it was full of chunks of chocolate and candy cane pieces, just like the locals like at their non-vegan ice cream parlors.

No, I don’t work for the Cincinnati tourism board, but December 19th will mark my three-year anniversary in the Queen City and it’s kind of neat to see how many cool things there are in town. I hope that if I leave, I find as many neat things and as supportive a community in my next city.