How would you make the perfect s’more?
Burnt to a crisp? Lightly toasted? Roasted in the embers to a deep golden brown? And that’s just the marshmallow. The classic recipe calls for graham crackers and Hershey’s chocolate, but that’s merely a baseline for you creatively to run wild with. However you set about constructing your s’more, it is in pursuit of that perfect crunch, filled with a gooey center, evoking the magic of camp.
Not only are s’mores delicious, but the humble layered sandwich treats also represent Westwind’s values.
Engagement
The practice of making a s’more is unique to every person. Some like it burnt, others raw, and most somewhere in between. For many, it’s a fight between the patience of perfectly toasting one’s marshmallow and the urge to bite into the delectable gooey treat. Whatever your process is, it requires you to engage with the process. To explore new methods and try different techniques. Making s’mores is often the first engagement with cooking. It also requires engaging with the larger community to share space around the fire, asking for help to assemble your s’more, and sharing in the collective disappointment when a golden brown marshmallow slides off the end of the stick into the coals.
Belonging
Throughout the year at Westwind, we gather around all manner of campfires. We stay warm, share stories, and sing songs, all while basking in the warm glow of the fire. These moments spent around the fire build community and stoke feelings of belonging. Campfire is a tradition that is easily accessible even to those who have never experienced it before. The sharing of s’more tips and tricks brings people together and bonds them through shared experiences. Everyone brings their approach to the s’more experience and from this is born countless recipes. Practicing sharing space and waiting for your turn to roast a marshmallow cultivates kindness and respect.
Resilience
Imagine this: you’ve roasted the perfect marshmallow; it’s golden brown perfection, bubbling on the crust, and just barely hanging on. As you raise your s’more stick from the fire, the gooey center gives way, and your marshmallow tumbles into the fire, settling into the coals. The once golden brown crust is enveloped in ash. What is left to do? Start again of course. Every s’more cooking roasting party isn’t complete without a fallen marshmallow. But with a pat on the back and a fresh marshmallow, we start again. When we face challenges and setbacks, with the support of our community we learn to embrace difficulties and adapt to challenges. The marshmallow lost in the flames will not deter us from our goal of the perfect s’more.
Learn More about the Westwind Values