Adding a Dash of Fabulous: Cooking with Avi Night Returns
By Avi VieiraGlendale
One thing that has always been popular at West Valley one•n•ten has been snacks. While our youth love and appreciate the usual snacks provided for them every group, they LOVE when they get an opportunity to create their own treats, and learn a recipe they can share with friends and family. West Valley’s very own Zinc Saucier Avi returned for a night dedicated to bringing the youth together through cooking simple and delicious snacks.
On the menu were perennial favorites Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries and Candy Sushi. Beginning with the Strawberries, Avi demonstrated how to hollow out the berries then showed another group of youth how to mix the cream cheese filling with vanilla and powdered sugar, then how to pipe it into the strawberries using a Ziploc baggie before finishing with a graham cracker topping. He then showed another group of youth and volunteers how to make Candy Sushi using thin sheets of Rice Krispy treats, rolled around twizzlers or gummi worms, and wrapped with fruit rollup “seaweed”, and accompanied by whipping cream “wasabi,” slices of strawberry fruit rollup “pickled ginger,” and chocolate syrup “soy sauce.”
The desserts were a huge hit, mostly due to the sugar content, but also in that it encouraged everyone to work together creatively on a common project as well as how deceptively simple the desserts are to make. Several youth with little to no cooking experience left for the evening stating how they were going to make these treats on their own to share with friends and family members. It was great to see youth not only enjoy the evening, but learn a new skill in the kitchen and become inspired to create and share something with those closest to them.