Sharing culture through food

West Shore

2023-06-06 07:32 PDT

Officers from West Shore RCMP’s Indigenous Policing Unit and Community Policing Section connected with students from Royal Bay Secondary School by literally breaking bread, and making Bannock together.

Food is a great way to learn about culture and break down barriers said Cst. Cole Brewer, a member of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band and a Constable with the West Shore RCMP Indigenous Policing Unit.

Photo below is Cst. Cole Brewer with West Shore RCMP Municipal Employee Shania Luna who is a member of the Lyackson First Nation:

Cst. Brewer is passionate about connecting with youth and meeting with students. Events like this help West Shore RCMP officers build relationships with our youth. In particular, we connected with students from BC First Peoples, Social Justice, English First Peoples and STRIDE classes at Belmont Secondary. 

Bannock is a popular and delicious bread with 5 base ingredients. There are many variations of Bannock with recipes being passed down from generation to generation. Versatility is what makes bannock so special, it can be baked, pan fried or even cooked over an open fire on a stick. We cheat a bit with our recipe, adding egg and milk to make it fluffier, but really the best part of Bannock is that it tastes better when it's shared, said Cst Brewer.

You to can enjoy this tasty Bannock at home with Cst. Brewer's Bannock Recipe below!

Bannock Recipe - Yields approximately 1 loaf or 18 pieces

Dry Ingredients: Mix all 3 together in a large mixing bowl

• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients: In a bowl mix together

• ¼ cup of vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• ½ cup of milk
• ½ cup of warm water
• Add wet mixture to the dry mixture
• Mix and fold ingredients together first with a spoon until 1 solid mass
• Continue to work the mixture by sprinkling with flour, and keep pulling & folding the doughball around the bowl in a circular pattern until it is a solid ball and you can handle it without it being too sticky.

*don’t over work/mix, it will make it heavy/dense*

Bake your Bannock - at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

OR

Fry your Bannock - ½ inch of vegetable oil to a deep pan and heat at high until almost bubbling. Fry for 1 minute, or until edges turn brown then flip over with tongs.

Enjoy with any topping you like! We prefer Blackberry jam!

Released by:

Email: westshore_media@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Website: westshore.rcmp-grc.gc.ca (English only)

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