Make a date with a friend to meet at a Monday Dinner, or come by yourself and make new friends! Either way, you'll get a great meal and a lot more--everyone wins!

Help publicize the Monday Dinners! An easy way to spread the word about our weekly community gathering is to click on the Tell-A-Friend link in the upper left of this page. Just fill out the form with the email addresses of up to two friends, along with any personal comments you'd like to add, and click Submit--this emails your comments along with pre-written details of the Dinners and a link to this website!

Another way to help is to post a copy of our Dinner Menus in public locations. For a pdf file suitable for printing, click here.

Every Monday night, a collaborative miracle takes place in Palo Alto! Besides healthful and delicious food, each Gourmet Vegetarian Dinner provides networking in a vibrant community, support for those seeking a healthier lifestyle or dealing with a serious condition, education in macrobiotic and other health areas, and a firsthand taste of The Great Life. We have found a formula which has produced magic for 21-1/2 years now!

Your help is needed to support our organization. Donations to the Peninsula Macrobiotic Community (PMC) are accepted in any amount. $10/year is suggested to support the newsletter; larger amounts are applied to both the newsletter and other expenses, primarily insurance. To contribute, write checks to "Peninsula Macrobiotic Community", and mail to Gerard Lum, 101 E. Middlefield Road #9, Mountain View, CA 94043, or drop off at the Monday Dinner. Donations, including $10 amounts to support the newsletter, are tax-deductible, as the PMC is a nonprofit organization. (To help with fundraising, contact any Board member.)

Monthly Vegan Potlucks! The Peninsula Veggie Potluck People, a spinoff of the Monday Dinners, sponsor monthly vegan potlucks. For the dates and locations of upcoming potlucks, visit http://pvpp.org or call Diane Wohler at 650 704-0669, or Harold Stephenson at 650 856-1125. Hosts needed!

Just released: Cool Cuisine: Taking the Bite Out of Global Warming by Laura Stec with Eugene Cordero, PhD (Gibbs Smith, Publisher, $24.99, Paperback with Flaps, October). Cool Cuisine is a smorgasbord of scientific fact and culinary art where the reader learns new ways to look at the climate crisis. Laura Stec is a San Francisco Bay Area chef and environmental advocate who enjoys teaching students about the artistry, health, and energetics of cooking; she previewed the book to our group in April. Dr. Eugene Cordero is an associate professor in the Meteorology Department at San Jose State University in California. For more information on the book, visit http://www.globalwarmingdiet.org.

The North Bay Macrobiotic Potluck Group usually meets the first Sunday of each month in Santa Rosa, contact Stephen Starkweather (), 707 542-9739, http://www.northbaymacro.org.

James Holloway, frequent Guest Chef at the Monday Dinners, does personal home cooking in Palo Alto, in macrobiotic and classical styles, call 650 852-9182.

Marin-based cookbook author, lecturer, and macrobiotic food coach Meredith McCarty offers cooking classes, consultations, and more. Call 415 381-1735 or visit http://www.healingcuisine.com for information.

Macrobiotic Health Counselor Michelle Nemer, based in El Cerrito, hosts a monthly Macrobiotic Study and Support Group in Kensington from 7-9 pm on Oct 23, Nov 20, and Dec 11, $5/session. She also teaches a series of four macrobiotic cooking classes in Kensington from 1:30-4:30 pm on Oct 4, Oct 12, Nov 8, and Dec 13, $160/series or $45/class. For information, call 510 527-4367 or email .

Also, Michelle will offer extended study programs beginning February 2009:

• Nourishing the Feminine
• Traditional Asian Diagnosis and Food Energetics Intensive
• The Earth Cafe and Inner Ecology Program at Commonweal Farm and Garden in coastal Bolinas, CA, see http://www.regenerativedesign.org.

Macrobiotic Chef Julie Ong teaches a macrobiotic cooking class on the first Saturday of every month at Manzanita Restaurant, 4001 Linden St (at 40th), Oakland, 3-5:30 pm, $45. Call 415 312-0241 to register, visit http://omkariwholisticliving.com for more information.

Speakers receive a gratuity from the audience; please show your support and appreciation with a donation ($5-10 suggested).

On October 20, Feng Shui practitioner Barb Jurecki-Humphrey will give a step-by-step presentation on Realizing Your Life Potential and Dreams with Feng Shui. More than just moving a couch for good luck, Feng Shui is the positive movement of chi (life force) throughout your surroundings to improve or change your life. Barb will cover the following tools:

1) The vision board helps envision what you would like to invite in your life, and focuses your intention for change and improvement. Using her personal vision board as an example, Barb will share her unique approach to vision board construction and get you started on your own--watch as your personal dreams begin to materialize!

2) The bagua: one of the main tools of Feng Shui, it analyzes the Feng Shui energy of any given space. Revered for centuries, the bagua helps determine the environmental changes necessary to improve areas of your life. "Bagua" means "eight areas" ("ba"=eight, "gua"=area). The bagua is a map or chart that relates the various areas of your life to the eight sections of your living space.

3) Ritual: change for the better does not happen on its own; there must be intention to change, but even that may not be enough. Barb will demonstrate the enormous power of ritual, which escalates your intention to change, both to the universe and to yourself, and empowers it exponentially.

Introduced to Feng Shui by William Spear at the Mid-Atlantic Macrobiotic Summer Camp in 1985, Barb trained with Grand Master Lin Yun Rinpoche and Carol Bridges at Nine Harmonies School of Feng Shui, and wrote The Feng Shui For Harmony Handbook. Barb, who lives in Colorado, will be available for home and office Feng Shui consultations while here. An accomplished macrobiotic cook and the author of Overnight Congee Cooklet, Barb is a regular and inspiring presence at the French Meadows Summer Camp, where she teaches Feng Shui and cooking. She loves working in the kitchen alongside newcomers, sharing her cooking and macrobiotic knowledge.

On November 3, macrobiotic counselor, cooking teacher, and author Gabriele Kushi will explore the effects of sugar on the body when she speaks on Sugar Blues. Since Americans, on average, consume 576 cans of sugar-based soda per year, causing multiple health conditions including diabetes and obesity, it is imperative to learn about healthy alternatives to improve your health and energy. Participants will gain a greater understanding of why we crave sweets, how sugar decreases our energy and the cycle of sugar addiction. In addition to understanding why we overindulge in sweet foods, participants learn what alternatives exist to the typical refined sugars we find in junk food, candy bars and other unhealthy snacks.

Gabriele Kushi is an internationally recognized lecturer and expert on healing with natural foods, and the author of Embracing Menopause Naturally (Square One Publishers). She has certifications from the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, the Macrobiotic Educators Association, the Kushi Institute, USA, and the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in conjunction with Columbia University Teachers College. For 30+ years, Gabriele has successfully educated people on how to embrace their lives naturally. She is the founder and director of Kushi's Kitchen in Minneapolis, MN and offers phone and web-net consultations. Visit her website at http://www.kushiskitchen.com.

Dr. Samia McCully's interest in naturopathic medicine was ignited after developing chronic digestive problems in college. After working with a naturopathic doctor to heal her condition and living abroad for several years, Dr. McCully attended the world's leading school for natural medicine, Bastyr University, and graduated with a doctorate in naturopathic medicine. Dr. McCully, a licensed naturopathic doctor, has a private practice in Menlo Park and teaches regularly on subjects such as "Whole Body Cleansing," "Heart Health and Naturopathic Medicine" and "Nutrition for the Whole Family." She has written articles for the Puget Consumer Cooperative Sound Consumer and Washington Athletic Club Magazine and has been interviewed on National Public Radio for her article "Mindful Eating." For more information, visit her website at http://www.wellnessarchitecture.com.

On November 10th, Dr. McCully will speak on The Role of Naturopathic Medicine in Food Sensitivities. Dr. McCully will go into detail about:

• defining naturopathic medicine
• what is a food sensitivity?
• the impact of food sensitivities on health
• how to diagnose food sensitivities
• why a customized diet is the best diet.   

• 3 cups rolled oats (not instant)
• 3 cups raw buckwheat
• 1/3 cup crushed walnuts
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds or macadamia nuts
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 2 T maple syrup (real) or 2 T honey or equivalent agave nectar sweetener
• 2 T olive oil
• 2/3 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine all dry ingredients (except raisins) in a 9x13" baking pan. Drizzle maple syrup and olive oil over baking pan. Stir all ingredients thoroughly. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from the oven to stir. Bake for 10 more minutes. After baking mix in raisins. Let cool and eat!

Health Benefits: this granola is a great choice for breakfast or a snack. It can be eaten with soy/rice/cows milk or yogurt.

Crunchy Granola:

• is wheat/soy/corn free (buckwheat is not in the wheat family)
• a good a source of omega 3 fatty acids
• is higher in protein and fiber than most commercial cereals
• will leave you feeling full until lunch!

by Dr. Samia McCully

The Community Connection feature appears when an author is inspired enough to produce an interview or profile for publication.

Enjoy these past features on community members by Denise Huajardo Springer, Sky Ann McGrath, and Gerard Lum:

• Simply Paul Schmitt
• Life Really Does Begin at 40! An Interview with Diane Wohler
• Eating Mother's Chicken: Making Choices in Life, An Interview with Gary Alinder
• Plain Miklane? An Interview with Miklane Janner
• Ken Becker on Macrobiotics, Part One
• Ken Becker on Macrobiotics, Part Two
• Passionate About Growing Healthy Food, An Interview with Patricia Becker
• By Having Hope, What Are You Going to Lose? An Interview with Geneva Page and Baron
• You Can Really Fly with It, An Interview with Gerard Lum
• An Evolving Vision of Community, An Interview with Miklane Janner
• Making a Difference Through Cooking, An Interview with Susanne Jensen 

Email Notification of Newsletter: To receive an email notification each time the Newsletter and Dinner Menus are published on this site (every two months), .

 

Mailing List Policy: To get a printed copy of the Newsletter and Dinner Menus delivered by postal mail, or call the phone number below. To offset the expense of producing the Newsletter and Menus, we suggest a contribution of $10/year or more. The date and amount of your last newsletter contribution appears on your mailing label. Write checks to "Peninsula Macrobiotic Community", and mail to Gerard Lum, 101 E. Middlefield Road #9, Mountain View, CA 94043, 650 903-0447.

We periodically review our mailing list. Those who have not made a recent contribution are subject to removal.

Tax-Deductible Contributions: We welcome and can use additional contributions to the Peninsula Macrobiotic Community, as income from the Dinners does not pay all of our expenses. We are a nonprofit organization, so additional contributions are fully tax-deductible. Send contributions to the address in Mailing List Policy above.

Back Issues of the Newsletter and Menus: Click here.