"Artisan Vegan Cheese" author gains new fans at Sonoma Cutlery

Wednesday night at Sonoma Cutlery, I had Gruyere fondue; buffalo mozzarella bruschetta; ricotta ravioli with sauce duxelles; kale, apple, cranberry salad with lemon dressing followed by chocolate cream cheese mousse--and not a single drop of dairy. Chef, instructor and cookbook author Miyoko Schinner presented to a packed house. We enjoyed her astounding dishes with selections from Martin Ray Winery and Petaluma’s own High Fidelity Coffee. This was a hoppin’ show, with the audience eager to help pass plates, dish out more, scoop up remaining bits, lick the bowl, and generally get into the process. And much processing was done, mainly of pre-soaked cashews and almonds, which were magically transformed into some of the best cheeses I’ve ever had. Oohs and aahs abounded and detailed questions flew, for half of the audience was vegan. But half, including me, was not. If you’re going to describe the taste of the marvelous cheese that has been created in Miyoko’s kitchen, don’t even bother with the adjective because you’d be intimating the wrong thing. As Schinner remarked, “This isn’t weird vegan food!” In fact, she advertises "vegan food for omnivores". She’s been experimenting with food for dozens of years, and you can tell she’s still overjoyed by the way that nuts can become cheese; describing the effect of a few days of culturing on her cheddar cheese, she still smiles with glee, remarking, “and then it tastes like, guess what—cheddar cheese!” But don’t take my word for it. Go down and buy the book at Copperfield’s, which stocked her latest book for this event. You’ll have company; Artisan Vegan Cheese, released in August, is in its third printing and, according to Amazon, is ranked #3 in cheese & dairy cookbooks. [!]