OPTIONS students celebrate diversity

OPTIONS students explore cultures through cuisine every Wednesday evening. This past Wednesday, students enjoyed "American BBQ."

Culinary Diversity Night is a themed dinner where each standard apartment prepares a complex dish from various cultures. Two of the apartments host the dinners. The recipes are predetermined by staff and given to students during meal preparation.

Culinary Diversity Night began this school year on September 1 with a "Hawaiian Luau" theme, followed by:

• "Into the Garden" on September 8
• "Greek Toga Party" on September 15
• Spanish Tapas on September 22
• Swiss Fondue on September 29

Students prep the food on Tuesday evening and cook on Wednesday.

The "American BBQ" menu included:

• Honey BBQ Chicken
• BBQ Short Ribs
• Marinated pork chops
• Fresh homemade pineapple salsa
• Mesquite BBQ Beans
• Sweet and Spicy Coleslaw
• Crusty Cornbread
• Fried Apple Pie a la mode
• Homemade Ice Tea

"It is necessary for us to have prep work on Tuesdays to allow our students to see the time and effort needed to make a meal of this size. This, in turn, allows them to have an appreciation for their specific menu item and enjoy the entire culinary experience," said Jeff Vincent, Independent Living Counselor at OPTIONS. "Culinary Diversity Nights are themed to allow students to explore, prep and cook specific ethnic/American cuisines. Every week students have a specific recipe that breaks down which apartment will have the main entree, side item, dessert and beverage.

"Our students have been amazing in their participation this year and will continue working each week on complex themes and recipes throughout the year."

OPTIONS (Optimizing Potential Through Individualized, On-going, Nurtured Successes) Program at Brehm is a comprehensive transitional program for students with learning disabilities who have graduated from high school, earned their GED, or who have chosen to defer graduation in order to participate in a transitional program.