Wednesday afternoons are special around the Greater Richmond ARCenter, a facility in North Richmond that provides services and programs for children, teens and adults with developmental disabilities.
That's when the staff and students gather in the kitchen to cook. If you happen to be there, you might get a whiff — or if you're really lucky, a taste — of something wonderful, like buttermilk biscuits or creamy cheesecake.
Making an after-school snack or helping to prepare a meal might be routine to a lot of children and teens. But for many of the more than 30 students who spend their afternoons at the center, being in the kitchen and working with others preparing food mean more than feeding their hunger.
It's an opportunity to learn to work as a team, to reinforce math skills and manners and, in the process, learn some basic skills that'll serve them throughout their lives.
And there in the thick of things will be Sandifur, 18, a student at Richmond's John Marshall High School. Within autism spectrum disorder, Sandifur is high-functioning. He's been going to the center since he was 11.
On a recent Wednesday, he and several other students worked alongside Associate Client Counselor April Allen-Nash and Camesha Peters, after-school program coordinator, to make flatbread pizzas.
With the oven warming, Sandifur laid flour tortillas on baking sheets and covered them with tomato sauce, spreading it around to cover the entire surface. He dropped carefully measured cupfuls of cheese onto the sauce and added pinches of Italian seasoning. Then he meticulously placed three slices of pepperoni on top.
Sliding them into the oven, he took note of the time and added 12 minutes.
"He keeps us on schedule," Peters said.
The cooking activity started three years ago and quickly became one of the Greater Richmond ARC's most popular programs, Allen-Nash said. She and Peters show students how to make simple appetizers as well as full meals. They take small groups of students to the grocery store to teach them about comparison shopping. The students learn to work together on food preparation and cleanup. The kitchen is outfitted so that counters can accommodate wheelchairs.
Students like Sandifur could likely one day lead independent lives and have a job, she said, and teaching them skills "is just a first step for them to really be independent."
It's also a chance to introduce them to new foods.
"A lot of our children are so used to a certain type of food," Allen-Nash said. Cooking at the center means the students learn about healthy food alternatives, such as baked chicken versus fried, and make fruit smoothies and wraps.
Once they taste something different and like it, and then understand that they can make the same thing at home, "it gives them a sense of confidence," she said.
Allen-Nash often pulls recipes from her favorite television cooking shows or chefs and adapts them for the students.
Sandifur's father, Zakariyya Sabor, said his son helps out around the house in many ways, including in the kitchen when he's cooking.
"He spends a lot of time watching me and helps me if I ask him," Sabor said, adding that "timing is a key thing with him."
As the first batch of pizzas came out of the oven, Sandifur readied another baking sheet and again noted the time.
He was so intent on keeping watch over the baking items that he turned up his nose at a bite of a hot and fresh-from-the-oven flatbread pizza.
"I'm busy," he said with a smile.
Duty calls.
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Breakfast Sliders
Makes 24 servings
One pack miniature hamburger rolls, 24 count
12 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
½ tablespoon of Italian seasoning
Dash EACH: salt and pepper
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
6 slices cheese (your preference)
12 slices cooked turkey or pork bacon
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place the buns on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper.
In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter to coat. Add the egg mixture and scramble until eggs are thoroughly cooked. Take off heat and set aside.
Cut each cheese slices into four pieces. Cut bacon slices in half.
Divide the eggs into equal portions and place on buns with a piece of cheese and a half-slice of bacon.
April Allen-Nash
Buttermilk Biscuits
Makes 12-15 biscuits
1 stick cold unsalted butter
2 cups self-rising flour, plus PLUS more for dusting
1 cup buttermilk (heavy cream or whole milk can be substituted)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, cut up the butter into small pieces and combine with the flour. Mix with your hands until butter is well-incorporated and the mixture feels like course sand. Add the buttermilk and combine.
Form the dough into a ball. Generously flour a flat surface and placing the dough in the center, knead it until it’s no longer sticky. With a floured rolling pin, flatten the ball until it’s about an inch thick. Using a cup or a cookie cutter, tocut biscuits out of the dough. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.
Adapted from Rose Rock, Food Network