Written by Jessica Niemela, BC Buddies Coordinator – Okanagan

This weekend’s BC Buddies Bake-Off event in Kamloops was a hit! We had a total of 11 students in attendance. We also had Melanie, Hearing Resource Teacher in Kamloops, join us.  We started the day off by introducing ourselves and naming our favourite foods. Then we split up into three groups, and each group was responsible for baking or cooking an item for our lunch. The three food items were veggie fritters, mini pizzas and quinoa cupcakes.

After each group received their grocery lists for the food they were about to make, we walked to Cain’s Independent grocery store. We split off into our groups at the grocery store and found the items we needed to purchase. Some items on our grocery lists had labels we had not seen before such as: gluten free flour, free range eggs, or cocoa powder. Each group was responsible to pay for the items at the cashier and then we made our journey back.

Upon arriving back at Mount Paul Foods Centre we were all eager to get cooking and baking! After going over the kitchen rules, each group member was assigned a group role: the recipe reader, the mixer, the measurer. These roles were then shared amongst each other to give everyone a turn in the cooking experience. We had quite the learning experience while to communicate with each other and work together in order to make our delicious food.

Our final meal was served in courses. Some students helped set the table, while others helped serve the food. We started off with the veggie fritters as an appetizer. These were so good and many students have not had vegetables in this way before. They were made with zucchini, carrots, onions, gluten free flour and eggs all mixed together and baked until crispy. The group who made it shared how they got to pick special spices to add as well.

Next we had our main dish- mini pizzas! While the pizza group made the dough, each student got to roll out their own piece of dough for their pizza. The pizza had ham, cheese and tomato sauce. Some students actually rolled cheese into their crusts for cheesy-crust!

Lastly, we had dessert- gluten free quinoa cupcakes. These cupcakes could melt in your mouth! The cupcake group shared how they were made with quinoa, gluten free flour, and lots of cocoa. What surprised me was what the icing was made of- apple sauce and cocoa powder! This meal was special because it was made by a big group coming together to make food not just for ourselves, but for each other.

Thank you for joining us!! Looking forward to the next Okanagan BC Buddies!