Israeli Cooking at the Forge – Emma Di Domenico

On February 5th, all the participants of the Israel trip visited a restaurant in Pittsburgh called The Forge which is known for its authentic Israeli cuisine and Italian pizza! While there, we learned how to make homemade falafel with fresh ingredients including chickpeas, cilantro, onions, spices, and more. These ingredients were blended together with a food processor and then correctly portioned to fry. Along with the falafel, a vegetable salad, and warm pita bread were made to create pita sandwiches. Thanks to the Shinshinim, we learned how to order what we wanted on our sandwiches by ordering in Hebrew which was very fun! Personally, I ordered a pita with falafel and veggie salad, and it tasted so fresh and flavorful! At 5:00 pm, our parents and family members came to the Forge to enjoy some pita sandwiches as well, which we assembled for them after taking their orders as well as getting them drinks. After the satisfying dinner, the rest of the participants of the trip and I gathered in the kitchen to make a dessert of a chocolate-filled dough roll that was cooked to perfection. Of course, these were cleaned off their plates very quickly! To finish off, we sat together at the front of the restaurant – talking, eating, and laughing. It was wonderful to learn about Israeli culture through cuisine and sharing our experience with our family and friends was very memorable.