Nomad Kitcheneer

It's Fall. The leaves here in Germany are turning color. I'm frantically baking/cooking to finish as much of my pantry items as possible. Yes, you read it right, I'm moving again. It's time for me to pack up and move across the ocean back to California. I'm only here in Germany for 18 months, I still cannot speak fluent German (I claim to be just restaurant proficient =p) Back in the summer, I baked this French Apple Cake from David Lebovitz. The flavor is surprisingly clean, if you're used to the American classic combo of apple + cinnamon. I later baked it couple more times, bringing it to dinner party etc. We had it on its own, had it with vanilla ice cream, had it warm, had it cold...you name it...it's delicious! French Apple Cake Adapted from French Apple Cake  by Dave Lebovitz yields one round (20cm, roughly 8") cake Ingredients: 3/4 cup (110g) flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder pinch of salt ~3-5 large apples (any kind) 2 larg

Life outside of the beautiful California is an interesting adjustment. I'm in a new country (Germany), learning to speak a new language (German), and adjusting to a new life style. While there are many things I enjoy here in Germany and in Europe, I must say, I miss my Mexican food! Luckily, I have a Mexican coworker (also an expat here), and I managed to nag him into learning how to make mole when he visited home over the holidays. Last week, he hosted a mole cooking demonstration (again, at my subtle nudging). To complete the Mexican theme, I volunteered to bring some Mexican dessert and decided to make the Chocoflan (that is another topic…very interesting dessert). However, to make the Chocoflan, cajeta is needed. It seems like cajeta is not as well known as its cousin, dolce de leche. Whenever I tell people that I'm making cajeta, I have to launch a food-education program and explain the difference between cajeta, dulce de leche, and condensed milk. To me, ca