Cheese Fondue With Steamed Veggies

1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch green onions, sliced thinly
5-7 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup white wine
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp low sodium tamari
2-3 tbsp white flour for slurry
4-6 dashes of ground cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 tsp dried basil
10 oz Jarlesburg cheese, grated
vegetables for steaming -- carrots, green beans, brussels sprouts, broccoli florets, artichokes, cauliflower, etc.
1 loaf good crusty, grainy bread, cut into 1 in. cubes

Steam vegetables and cube bread ahead of time and set aside. In a wide sauce pan, briefly cook onions and garlic. Add wine, vegetable broth and tamari. With 2 tbsp of flour prepare a slurry with a little water or broth. When liquid in pan comes to a boil, add slurry and whisk until broth clears. This should thicken the broth a bit. Prepare a bit more slurry if needed. When broth is thickened, slowly add cheese and whisk into broth over low heat (cooking too fast will cause the sauce to “break”). Add basil and cayenne to taste. Serve fondue in the sauce pan or fondue pot.

Notes

You can thicken the sauce with corn starch instead of the flour-based slurry but any leftover fondue sauce, after being refrigerated, will not reheat without being somewhat lumpy. Reheating a flour-thickened sauce will not lump and will retain a smooth texture.