From bagels to banana cake
Posted in 2011 - 2012, Participant Stories on 16. Feb, 2012
בס”ד
by David Jacobowitz, Los Angeles, CA
Before this year the most elaborate thing I could make was an omelet and place it in a bagel, but now I am able to make a whole new arrangement of dishes. Now that I’m living in my own apartment I have worry about what I’m going to be eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don’t have my mother anymore to pack my lunches and make my dinner while I lazy around the house. In fact it’s just the opposite; now I’m packing my lunches and cooking dinner for the apartment. Want to hear something that sounds unbelievably weird but at the same time delicious? Deli Dogs. Something I came up with one night on the spot while thinking what my apartment should have for dinner. It’s basically a hot dog wrapped in deli meat lathered in ketchup and barbeque sauce, and then tossed on the frying pan. These have become a favorite in Apartment 2, of 80 Derech Chevron. I recall people doubting Shalem for the sole reason that they “didn’t know how to cook”. Well I was never one who really cooked for himself in L.A, but now that I’m here I have embraced cooking and am now making dishes that I could only watch my mom make in the past. I have made dishes ranging from schnitzel and barbeque chicken to the likes of chicken fried rice, stuffed peppers, and chili. Recently I’ve also taken up baking, which is as easy as it looks. Following instructions off a sheet of paper isn’t the toughest thing in the world. Using my mom’s banana chocolate chip muffins recipe and turning it into cake didn’t really come out the way I planned the first time to say the least, but now I am able to make it the way it’s supposed to come out.
One of the best feelings in the world is when someone tells you that what you cooked is delicious; I’m physically unable to prevent the smile that shows up on my face every time I hear that. I’m glad I didn’t let my inexperience in the kitchen prevent me from coming on Shalem, because it’s just one more thing that I’ve learned from this program.