Homemade Dulce de Leche or Cajeta

Split vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape out seeds and place them, along with the empty vanilla pods, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and salt (if using) in a medium-sized (err slightly on the large side) pot.

Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

Remove the pot from the heat and slowly stir in the baking soda-water mixture — it’s going to foam up if using goat's milk, due to the acidity. This is why we use a larger pot; you might want to do this in the sink.

Return the mixture to the stove and keep it at a brisk simmer; if too hot, the mixture will boil over, if too low, it will take forever.

Cook, checking in on it occasionally (every 15 minutes) to give it a stir to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom, until the mixture turns a light brown, about 1 hour.

Check in on and stir the mixture more frequently (about every 5 minutes) as it begins to take on a caramel-brown color and thickens to the consistency of maple syrup, then plant yourself in front of the stove and stir the mixture until it reaches a deeper copper color.

Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer [updated to note: it’s rather thick and this step can be more trouble than it’s worth; feel free to skip it and just fish the cinnamon and/or bean pods out] and into jars.

Use immediately, or cool completely, storing in the fridge for up to one month with an airtight lid.

Rewarm as needed to soften the caramel; a microwave is efficient but you can also warm the jar in a 1- to 2-inch puddle (shorter than the jar lid, of course) of simmering water in a saucepan until it re-liquefies.

If mixture seems too thick to pour even after fully reheating, you can stir in a little water, 1 teaspoon at a time.

Serve it: Over everything. Here, I drizzled it on some leftover part-whole wheat crepes from a blintz project (cheese blintz recipe, anyone?) filled with sliced bananas and mango, but it’s also wonderful on ice cream, cakes, churros, or a spoon.