I recently received an e-mail from a good friend who was back in California taking the Cheesemaking class at the College of Marin. Tamara, a veterinarian, moved to Alaska some years ago and has very much been leading the adventurous life since, such as undertaking (and completing) the Ididerod dog sled race.

Anyway, Tamara recently acquired some dairy goats, providing the catalyst to learn how to make cheese. As well as hands-on cheesemaking, the class also went on a field trip to nearby Nicasio Valley Dairy.

As well as sending through a bunch of photos, in her words "the cheese class was really great. Marc Bates brought a wealth of experience, in both large and small scale cheese making; plus some great stories and pictures of traditional cheese making in France. I took the class in order to form a good foundation to my cheese making 'career.' The goats are due to kid in a month, so the timing was perfect. There are also very limited opportunities for formal training in cheese making. So this was a valuable workshop for all of us lucky enough to attend."

I can't wait to taste the results!