News and Announcements

Thank You to the many who have contributed to our Fundraising Drive!

Best Wishes for a Safe and Happy Holiday Season, and a Happy New Year!  Dinner will not be served on Dec 24 or 31.

Macrobiotic Counselor and Acupuncturist Michael Rossoff will be available for personal consultations in Woodside the week of Jan 7.  His 32 years of experience with macrobiotics, acupuncture, and Chinese medicine make him highly sought after as a counselor.  Call 650 366-4285.

Macrobiotic Counselor David Briscoe of Macrobiotics America (www.macroamerica.com) offers an Internet evening course, Osteoporosis & Macrobiotics, with six online sessions: Jan 8, 10, 15, 17, 22 & 23, 6 – 7:30 PM PST, audit option available for the Internet-shy.  Cost is $175, call toll free 877 622-2637, or info@macroamerica.com.

Monthly Vegan Potlucks!  Sunday, Jan 20, 6:30 PM at the home of Don and Carolyn Bott in San Jose, call 408 244-6635 to let them know you're coming and for directions.

For the date and location of the December potluck, or if you’d like to host, call Harold Stephenson, 650 856-1125.

Apartment in San Carlos with view, to share with regular Monday Diner, $795 per month, call 650 592-2139.

The Bay Area Veg Fair comes to the Santa Clara Convention Center on Saturday, Feb 9, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Food, fun, lectures, cooking demos, and more! For details, see www.vegfair.com.

PMC Fundraising Drive

Each Monday Dinner, collectively produced by a dedicated and talented group, encompasses not just Gourmet Vegetarian Dining, but also 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 14-1/2 years now.

We need your support for these activi­ties, so we are holding a Fundraising Drive in Nov-Dec of 2001.  At every Dinner, contribu­tion envelopes and boxes will be prominently displayed, and an announcement will be made about the Drive.  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, and will also give us additional operating flexibility to handle rising costs.  See From The Editor for details on contributing by mail.

Donations, including $10 amounts to support the newsletter, are tax-deductible, as the PMC is a nonprofit organization.  The PMC acknowledges contributions with a letter explaining their tax deductibility, sent with contributions of $20 or more.

 Cooking Classes, Dinners

The Center For Informed Food Choices (www.informedeating.org ) offers plant-based cooking classes:  1) Cooking in Season, with Linda Hillel, Sat Dec 1, 10 AM - 1 PM, in Oakland; 2) Cooking in Season for the Holidays and Beyond, with Alka Chandna, Sun Dec 2 (Part I) and Dec 9 (Part II), 10 AM – 1 PM, in San Francisco.  Classes include expert cooking demonstrations, tastings, recipes, resources, and lots of fun!  $45/class, call 510 465-0322 or email info@informedeating.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.

Susanne Jensen offers vegetarian take- outs  ($12) on Wednesdays in San Francisco,SF delivery available, reserve by 9 PM Tue, call 415 661-4764.

Anne Mark teaches a macrobiotic cooking class on Sun Dec 16, 3 PM in Palo Alto, $35.  Includes a full meal, call 650 678-9390.

Meekk's Kitchen prepares a variety of vegetarian and vegan dishes in Palo Alto, menu updated weekly, call 650 424-3900.

Carolyn Peters moved recently to San Francisco, where she offers private cooking, individual and group cooking classes, and catering.  She is experienced in macrobiotic, vegetarian, and conventional styles.  Call 415 810-3496, carolyn_peters@yahoo.com.

After-Dinner Events

On Jan 14, Verne Varona speaks on The Tao Of Laughter--FUN-damentals Of Daily Life Humor. This is a "must attend talk" designed to illuminate, entertain and inspire participants to find and create humor in everyday life--and no one demonstrates it better than Verne! Developing an appreciation and sense of humor is one of the most overlooked and misunderstood elements of self-healing. Diplomatic Caution: not a good idea to overeat prior to this talk!

Verne Varona, a certified nutritional counselor, is an acclaimed authority on natural healing. A frequent and popular speaker at health expos and an instructor for the International College of Naturopathy, he has written numerous articles for Macrobiotics Today, Natural Health, Whole Life Times, and other publications. The former host of his own radio show, he is a popular media guest on nutrition and health topics.

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

For most of us, seeking health means navigating through bewildering masses of information; quite likely, the food we end up preparing for ourselves lacks appeal, variety, and satisfaction.  In contrast, Cookbook Author and Food Coach Meredith McCarty tailors sound, culinary approaches to health that are fun, creative, and appetizing.

In her first cookbook, American Macrobiotic Cuisine, Meredith introduced and applied the concepts of macrobiotics taught by her Japanese teachers, but in ways original, creative, and more palatable to American tastes.  Her next effort, Fresh From A Vegetarian Kitchen, expanded her practical approach further, including many internationally-inspired recipes, to become a well-known and often-recommended classic. Her latest cookbook, Sweet and Natural, shows how to elegantly satisfy our natural cravings for sweets, all within the context of a health-supportive diet.  This exceptional work earned Meredith a prestigious international award: Best Vegetarian Cookbook of 1999!

Meredith studied at the Kushi Institute with Michio and Aveline Kushi and other teachers of macrobiotics.  She was an Associate Editor of Natural Health magazine, reviewing a wide range of health related topics.  Finally, she co-directed the East-West Center for Macrobiotics in Eureka for nearly 20 years; many of her recipes came from the practical, improvisational realities of cooking at the Center and the Three Creeks Summer Camp, that she earned raves for.

Meredith currently has her own consulting business, Healing Cuisine (www. healingcuisine.com), where she designs custom dietary approaches to each client's particular situation.  Join us on Dec 17, when Meredith speaks on Designing Your Own Fun, Creative, And Practical Approach To Health.

On Jan 7, Macrobiotic Counselor and Acupuncturist Michael Rossoff speaks on Freedom From Fear ($5 - $10 suggested due to travel distance).  The dangers of terrorism highlight the ever present risks of modern life.  At this time, it appears justifiable to be afraid.  Yet, according to Chinese medicine, fear is the only emotion considered unnatural or caused by unbalanced states.  Fear is devitalizing and disturbing to our mental and physical well being.  The question everyone has been asking since September 11th is how can we be alert and secure at the same time?  Michael's talk will explore simple ways to keep us centered -- body, mind and spirit -- in the midst of any storm, in order to reduce anxiety, worry, phobias, and fear.  Only then can we know true freedom.

Michael Rossoff brings 32 years of experience with macrobiotics, acupuncture and Chinese medicine.  He has counseled many thousands of people, taught in the USA, Canada, Europe and Israel.  Besides his counseling and acupuncture practices, he is now the academic dean of the Atlantic University of Chinese Medicine, near Asheville, North Carolina.

Autumn Vegetable and Heirloom Bean Soup

Makes 6 to 8 servings, or 8 cups.  Heirloom beans are native, non-hybridized beans with names like Anasazi, Scarlet Runner, Red Calypso, Steuben Yellow Eyes, Rattlesnake, Christmas or Chestnut Limas, Gigandes, and Swedish Brown Beans.  Some are available organically grown from Gold Mine Natural Food Co. by mail order (1-800-475-3663), Phipps Bean Farm in Pescadero, or Dean and Deluca in St. Helena.

• 1 cup heirloom beans (Anasazi, etc.)
• 5 1/2 cups or more water for beans (2 cups to soak, 2 1/2 cups or more to cook)
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-inch piece kombu sea vegetable
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced, or leek white, cut in 1/4-inch half moons
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 carrot, cut in 1/4-inch half moons
• 1 rib celery, sliced
• 1 red potato, cut in 1/2-inch dice (or parsnip, rutabaga or turnip)
• 2 cups winter squash (i.e. 10 ounces kabocha), peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Water for soup
• 1 tomato or red bell pepper, chopped, or kernels of 1 ear corn (in season)
• Up to 1/2 cup fresh herbs, i.e. 1/2 cup or 3/4 ounce fresh basil with 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, both herbs chopped
• Freshly-ground pepper
• 1/4 cup white miso, or part light barley miso
• Half a bunch arugula or parsley, chopped, or cooked hardy greens (kale, collards, mustard)

1. Sort through beans by spreading them on a white plate in batches. Rinse, drain and soak 8 hours or overnight.

2. Drain beans.  Bring beans to boil in pressure cooker or in a 2-quart pot.  Turn heat low to simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, then add bay leaf and kombu sea vegetable.  Cover and cook by either method, 20 to 60 minutes in pressure cooker (less with Anasazi beans), or 45 minutes (for Anasazi beans) to 3 hours in a pot adding more water as necessary.  Vigorously whisk kombu to dissolve it in the hot bean broth.  Makes 2 1/2 cups.

3. Heat oil in a 3-quart pot. Add onion and garlic and sauté briefly.  Add carrot, celery, potato, squash, salt and water to barely cover, about 3 cups.  Bring to boil then turn heat to medium to cook until tender, about 10 minutes.  Add beans, tomato and seasonings and cook a couple of minutes more.  Dissolve miso in a little of the hot soup broth and add to pot.  Stir in greens and serve.

From the Editor

Our community depends on you! To support and receive the newsletter, send $10/year (checks made to "Peninsula Macrobiotic Community") to Gerard Lum, 101 E. Middlefield Rd, Apt. 9, Mountain View, CA 94043, GerardTL@aol.com, 650 903-0447. Your mailing label shows the date and amount of your last contribution.