Goatgirl Goes Cajeta

I love to write the heading of posts! I could be the headline writer for a newspaper. Maybe if I run out of stuff to blog about I will just start making up headings.

********this pic is so random and rarely do I torcher myself by posting pics of myself but things were looking plain at the top of this post***********

 
I don't want to turn this blog into a cooking blog, but it's a subject that I will probably babble about every once in awhile. I like to cook. And I like recipes. I know real cooks aren't suppose to follow recipes they fly by the seat of their pants and they are cool, or whatever, but not me, I am a direction follower. The more complicated the recipe the better. I don't do well with packaged meals or mac and cheese for some reason. I either mess them up or burn myself.

 
Goat cheese was suppose to be my newest project and I am still getting to that, but I was distracted yesterday with cajeta (ca-heh-ta). Cajeta is a Mexican caramel like sauce made from goats milk.

Pati's Mexican Table Cajeta 

There are many recipes online but I chose this one mostly because the writer actually went to where cajeta was started . Mixing history and food makes it that much more fun (that and her copper pot totally intrigues me)

So what you need is goats milk (let me recommend not watching someone's goat unless you are really  hard core), dark brown sugar, vanilla extract, and baking soda.  Yum and simple.  For the amounts visit the above blog.

 ***** I actually measured out the ingredients, they weren't measured out by my staff****

Of course, put all the ingredients in the  pot on a medium heat. The heaviest bottom pot you can find in your cupboard. I learned that lesson a couple month back making farmers cheese. I scorched the milk because my pot wasn't thick enough and I ruined a whole gallon of milk. If you cook on a budget that stinks.

So let the stirring begin, this is one of those simmer and stir forever things that isn't for the faint of  heart. Its not as  bad as polenta from scratch though if you have ever had that experience. Make sure you are using a wooden spoon, because only cool people use wooden spoons.

 

 I went back and added a teaspoon of cinnamon (according to other recipes found). I just couldn't resist messing with it more. Then I spent a couple minutes panicked that I was going to have cinnamon floaties and ruin the whole thing. I think panic attacks are a part of cooking.

 

 The name of the game is reducing and for whatever reason it seems when you reduce the liquid out of what you are cooking by simmering it makes things more yummy. Sitting there and stirring isn't a requirement. Thank God because it needs to simmer for like 2 hours, my attention span is fleeting!! Stir and make sure its not burning then go do something else. The above pic  is about an hour into the whole thing. You can see how much it has reduced.

Of course the best thing about being the cook it the taste testing. This is the sticky stuff stuck to the sides. And it was HOT! I about burned my finger, but it was worth the pain.

 It made exactly 3 cups. But turned out not thick enough to be a sauce. Which is frustrating and if I was feeling like it I would go back and try it again. But  this time I did what any true American would do (that sounds so good but doesn't make sense at all). I turned it in to coffee sweetener.

I have gotten pretty darn good at the whole goat milking thing. I get more milk at a time so goat cheese next.