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.

Thank you to Miklane Janner, who returns the Dinner Manager position to former manager Ilona Pollak. Miklane and her right hand man Bob Griffin added their own touches, including tablecloths, cloth napkins, candles, name tags, and occasional art shows, to greatly enhance the Monday dinners. We look forward to seeing her at future dinners.

Thank you to the many who contributed to our Fundraising Drive. If you would like to support the Peninsula Macrobiotic Community (PMC), tax-deductible donations are accepted in any amount; $10/year is suggested to support the newsletter. See From The Editor for details on contributing by mail.

Chef Gary Alinder has started a blog at http://macrochef.wordpress.com. Tune into Gary's views on a variety of subjects including food and health, and leave your comments! He has also posted a recipe archive which includes soups; main dishes; sauces, gravies, and dressings; and desserts and snacks.

Monthly Vegan Potlucks! The Peninsula Veggie Potluck People, a spinoff of the Monday Dinners, sponsor monthly vegan potlucks; for details, visit http://pvpp.org. To host a potluck, call Diane Wohler at 650 704-0669, or Harold Stephenson at 650 856-1125.

The George Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation has a new website! Visit http://ohsawamacrobiotics.com for information on macrobiotics, books, the latest issue of Macrobiotics Today magazine, and the French Meadows Summer Camp!

For an interesting view of current health topics, check out the examiner.com online articles written by Suzanne Olson for the San Francisco Examiner. Suzanne is a regular at the Monday Dinners.

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.

Barbara Johnston-Brown and Susanne Jensen teach macrobiotic cooking classes on Saturdays: Back to Basics on February 6, and Soups, Soups, Glorious Soups on March 6; 11 AM - 2 PM, Willard Middle School, 2425 Stuart Street, Berkeley, CA 94705. $75/class includes lunch, discounts for multiple classes. To register, contact Barbara at 925 286-1395 or Susanne at 415 661-4764

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.

Late-breaking news, after publication of the printed newsletter! Meredith McCarty has scheduled a Saturday cooking class in Menlo Park:

• March 13: Greens Glorious Greens!
• Location: Menlo Park near Stanford Shopping Center

To register for the March 13 class in Menlo Park, call Patty Evans at 650-988-9342 $60 per class or $55 with registration for two or more classes--more classes in Menlo Park are planned.

Marin-based cookbook author, lecturer, and macrobiotic food coach Meredith McCarty teaches Tuesday cooking classes in Larkspur:

• February 23: Healing Recipes from the Longest Living People on the Planet
• March 16: Greens Glorious Greens!
• Details: 6:30-8:30 PM, Redwood High School, Room 120, 395 Doherty Dr., Larkspur, $50/class

Also, she will do Thursday lectures in Mill Valley:

• February 25: Food Cravings & Weight Management
• March 18: Managing Menopause
• Details: 6:30-8 PM, Tamalpais High School, Wood Hall 148, 700 Miller Ave. at Camino Alto, Mill Valley, $25/lecture

To register for Meredith's cooking classes in Larkspur or lectures in Mill Valley, call 415 945-3730 or visit http://marinlearn.com. More info: http://www.healingcuisine.com or 415 272-5525.

For information on macrobiotic activities in the East Bay, contact Macrobiotic Health Counselor Michelle Nemer in El Cerrito, or 510 527-4367.

Macrobiotic Counselor Julie Ong teaches macrobiotic cooking classes and does macrobiotic consultations in San Francisco; visit http://www.everythingmacrobiotics.com or call 415 312-0241.

The Bay Area Vegetarians sponsor two Secrets of Vegan Baking Classes taught by Christine Dickson on the following Saturdays:

• March 27:  The Chocolate Trio
• April 24:  Berry Sweets

1:00 - 2:30PM, Whole Foods Market, San Mateo, $25/class. Before registering, you may want to review http://secretsofveganbaking.com/ for details of the classes, as these classes may differ from macrobiotics in their approach and choice of ingredients. Register at http://www.bayareaveg.org/cooking/index.htm.

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

On February 22, join Julia and Carl Ferré for an evening of Working with Energy for Healing. Julia's presentation will include creating micro and macro chi energy fields, a healing circle similar to the one she does at the French Meadows Summer Camp, a talk about Reiki, and, time permitting, a 2 to 3 minute personal energy boost for each person in the group.

Julia is a level 3 Reiki practitioner and a macrobiotic chef and cooking instructor who trained with Cornellia Aihara beginning in 1980. Julia will have copies of her new cookbook, French Meadows Cookbook, along with her classic, Basic Macrobiotic Cooking. She works at the George Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation on Macrobiotics Today magazine and the French Meadows summer camp (July 17-25, 2010). Carl began macrobiotic practice in 1975 and has been studying, practicing, and teaching macrobiotic thinking and lifestyle ever since. He is the author of Acid Alkaline Companion and Pocket Guide to Macrobiotics, president of the George Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation, editor of Macrobiotics Today magazine, and director of the French Meadows camp. He enjoys playing music and hiking in his "spare" time. Julia and Carl encourage everyone to view their newly redesigned website: http://ohsawamacrobiotics.com.

Do you ever have questions about the Monday Dinners? For example: how do Chefs Gary Alinder and James Holloway come up with their menu ideas, producing a seemingly unique dinner each week? Where do they shop? Is the food organic? What about nightshades? What types of oil are used? Salt? Are dinner recipes available? Do they ever teach cooking classes? What makes a meal "macrobiotic"? How is it that the Monday Dinners have endured for 22-1/2 years? Who are those guys who cook the meals, really? (You can get acquainted with Gary through his blog, http://macrochef.wordpress.com!)

Satisfy your curiosity on March 22 when Gary and James host a special Ask the Chefs event. Gary Alinder has been Chef for the Monday night dinners since their beginning in 1987. He apprenticed as a cook at Fukuen, a vegetarian macrobiotic restaurant in Osaka, Japan in 1978-79 and later worked at French and natural foods restaurants in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Since 1986 he has been a cook and caterer in the Bay Area. He cooks frequently for community groups on retreat and, infrequently, gives cooking classes.

James Holloway has been a frequent chef and sous chef at the Monday Dinners for more than ten years. He began cooking in restaurants during his college days, working for spending money. His college career ended, but not his cooking. He owned and managed a natural food store in Hood River, Oregon for ten years, and later cooked at two four-star hotels. "Since my real interest in food is health," he says, "the restaurant scenes gave way to personal home cooking, with a health slant. I like to view food as a medicine, and I like my medicines to taste good, so I'll continue to cook great tasting medicine, I mean food...for you." He is father to three children. His eldest, Melissa, is vice president for publicity at Fox Searchlight in Los Angeles and his younger two, Alexis and Chris, are middle school students. 

by Chef Gary Alinder

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.