Eucalyptus Magazine, November 2009

bay area Life Vibrant Health Eco-Livingâ€

november 2009 FREE

eucalyptusmagazine.com

local and organic A visit with chefs Jesse Cool and charlie ayers

November 2009

eucalyptus by lesley turnbull, stelladownerfineart.com.au

On the Cover

20 Local and Organic Charlie Ayers of Palo Alto’s Calafia Café and Jesse Cool of Menlo Park’s Cool Café and Flea Street Café Photo by Kyle Chesser

Features 27 East and West: Complementary Medicine 33 Volunteer Vacations

Departments 7 11 13 14 17 18

Q&A: Composting Sandbox Talk: Bedtime Strategies Small Steps: Eco-holidays Pets Corner: Microchipping Rooted on the Farm: Veggie Stuffing Staycation: Moss Landing

In Every Issue

3 4 10 37 40

Publisher’s Note Calendar of Events Stuff We Like Resource Guide Tidbits

EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 1

MISSION In each edition we profile a successful company or individual provider within the health, wellness, and eco-industries, and provide information on local products and services that support healthy and eco-friendly lifestyles.

It is our dream that Eucalyptus Magazine becomes your first resource and companion to living naturally in the Bay Area. All of us here at Eucalyptus Magazine will do our best to help you live in harmony and to connect you with local products and services that will help you accomplish your goals.

ADVERTISE AND GROW YOUR BUSINESS Reach our affluent, well educated, environmental- and health- conscious readers who are eagerly seeking resources that will improve their health, well-being, and sustainability. For more information, please contact us at 866.797.6570 or advertising@eucalyptusmagazine.com.

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS We welcome your news briefs and event listings; please send to editor@eucalyptusmagazine.com.

DISTRIBUTION Eucalyptus Magazine is a free publication supported solely by our advertisers with wide distribution throughout the Bay Area.

To find Eucalyptus Magazine at a location near you, contact us at 866.797.6570 or distribution@eucalyptusmagazine.com. Let us know if you would like copies placed at your place of business.

Please support our advertisers by letting them know you saw them in this publication.

In keeping with our concern for the environment, Eucalyptus Magazine is printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks.

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EUCALYPTUS BAY AREA LIFE

Our mission is to educate, share knowledge, and inspire our readers to take charge of their health and wellness and to help protect the environment we all live in.

VIBRANT HEALTH

ECO-LIVING

Michaela Marek Publisher and Founder publisher@eucalyptusmagazine.com WWW.EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM EDITORIAL Editor Ann Marie Brown Contributing Writers Lisa Francesca Desiree Hedberg Becky Herbert Jessica Iclisoy Shannon Johnson Elizabeth McGurn Carolina Moore Jennifer Moscatello Steve Scheifer Laurie Swanson Copyeditor Darren Richardson DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Creative Director Kyle Chesser, theHandsOnStudio.com Designer Greg Silva Lead Photographer Kyle Chesser, HandsOnPhoto.com Contributing Photographers Victoria Alexander Greg Silva Ian Young ADVERTISING SALES Director of Sales Jan Rowe Account Executives Angela Alexander Cari Ralstin Cynthia Wehr CONTACT 15559 Union Avenue, Suite 215 Los Gatos, CA 95032 Phone/Fax 866.797.6570 info@eucalyptusmagazine.com EucalyptusMagazine.com

Our company purchases printing services from a local Certified Green Business that has the highest commitment to keeping our environment clean.

2 | November 2009

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Subscription rate $24.00 per year Advertising rates on request ALYPTUS UC

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AGAZ

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Volume 1, Issue 5 Š2009 by Eucalyptus Magazine. Eucalyptus is a registered trademark in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All rights reserved. Some parts of this magazine may be reproduced with written permission only. We welcome your ideas, articles, and feedback. Although every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy of published materials, Eucalyptus Magazine cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied by its authors. We do not necessarily endorse products and services advertised.

Always consult a professional provider for clarification.

publisher’s note kyle chesser

I don't dine out much because I am always concerned about the quality of the food I eat, and I believe that the best meal is the one I cook myself. At home, I can control the ingredients I use, the cost, and the portions, and this gives me a sense of security I don’t get at restaurants.

When I read Charlie Ayers’ cookbook Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google, I was surprised and relieved to learn that there is a professional chef who brings my way of thinking to the commercial kitchen. And “my way” means made-from-scratch, organic, sustainable, local food at reasonable prices.

Renowned chef and cookbook author Jesse Cool is another of our local food superstars. She cooks with a conscience—both environmentally and with a discerning eye for high-quality, nutritious food. Cool and Ayers go out of their way to buy organic food from local farmers, to cook with only the highest quality ingredients, and to manage their restaurants in an eco-friendly, responsible manner. I am delighted that restaurants such as Ayers’ Calafia and Cool’s Cool Cafe are so well received in the Bay Area, and that people who want to eat healthfully have such excellent dining choices.

There’s another reason why these distinguished chefs make a real difference. Food allergies are a growing problem faced by many of my friends. Whether it is gluten intolerance, or allergies to common foods such as peanuts or tomatoes, it is difficult for people with food sensitivities to eat on-the-go. They are often faced with limited options, and even if they ask the chef to exclude certain ingredients, their food may be cross-contaminated. It is comforting to know that quality-conscious chefs in our community are creating a safe dining environment for everyone.

Whether you want to eat raw, organic, local, or gluten-, wheat-, or dairy-free, there are chefs in the Bay Area who care about your needs. Knowing that these types of restaurants are found right in my backyard, I will now dine out with confidence and I hope that you will, too.

Cheers!

Michaela Marek Publisher and Founder

EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 3

upcoming events

calendar

Saturday, November 7 / 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Harvest and Holiday Wreath Making Common Ground Garden Center, Palo Alto commongroundinpaloalto.org / 650.493.6072

Tuesday, November 10 / 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Eucalyptus Magazine Networking Event Tomato Thyme Restaurant, San Jose eucalyptusmagazine.com / 408.499.5619

Friday to Sunday, November 13-15 Green Festival featuring 350 eco-friendly businesses San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center greenfestivals.org / 415.256.TIXX

Saturday, November 14 / 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Growing Blueberries, Blackberries, and Raspberries Common Ground Garden Center, Palo Alto commongroundinpaloalto.org / 650.493.6072

Tuesday, November 10 / 7 p.m.

The Whole Omega-3 Story Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy, Los Gatos pharmaca.com / 408.395.1231

Sunday, November 15 / 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Naturalist-Led Medicinal Plant Walk

Wednesday, November 11
/ 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Native Plant Nursery Workday

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Fremont fws.gov/desfbay / 510.745.8695

Baylands Nature Preserve, Palo Alto savesfbay.org/education / 510.452.9261

Tuesday, November 24 / 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Eco-Tuesday Networking Event

Wednesday, November 11 / 7 p.m.

Aging Beautifully With Raw Nutrition Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy, Los Gatos pharmaca.com / 408.395.1231

Crowne Plaza CabaĂąa Hotel, Palo Alto ecotuesday.com / 650.857.0787

Sunday, December 6 / 12 noon to 5:30 p.m.

Green Gift Fair Whole Foods Market, Los Altos wholefoodsmarket.com / 650.559.0300

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ŠCopyright 2009 B Lab. A 501(c)3 Non-proďŹ t All rights reserved

4 | November 2009

          

 EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 5

you are invited PLEASE JOIN US for a special evening of networking, fun and education! While you enjoy complimentary appetizers and a cash bar, you can meet and mingle with people behind the scenes of Eucalyptus Magazine—advertisers, readers, and supporters. Come and meet like-minded people.

WHEN Tuesday, November 10; 5:30 p.m.

WHERE Tomato Thyme Restaurant 1560 Hamilton Avenue, San Jose COST Free

SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER

LEE HOLDEN

LEE HOLDEN is an internationally known instructor in meditation, tai chi, and Qi Gong. Lee lectures and teaches workshops across the U.S., as well as in Europe and Asia. Holden first discovered tai chi and Qi Gong in his quest to achieve peak sports performance as a varsity soccer player at Berkeley.

Now, he is the founder of Pacific Healing Arts, one of Northern California’s most successful acupuncture and wellness practices. Lee has worked closely with Deepak Chopra, and he also serves as a stress management consultant to many corporations in Silicon Valley, including Apple and 3COM. He lives in Santa Cruz, California. PACIFICHEALINGARTS.COM

Please RSVP by November 8 to rsvp@eucalyptusmagazine.com Visit us at EucalyptusMagazine.com

6 | November 2009

By shannon johnson

greg silva

San Francisco

has earned the distinction of being the first city in the U.S. to pass a mandatory composting law. The purpose of the ordinance is to assist the city in meeting its goal of diverting 75% of waste from its landfills by 2010. Residents are provided with garbage, recycling, and composting bins, and have until 2010 to get in the swing of composting without incurring any fines.

The dictionary defines composting as “the controlled decomposition of organic material such as leaves, twigs, grass, and certain food wastes.” By making compost, individuals and businesses can help to protect water and soil from harsh chemical fertilizers—the more compost we use, the less manufactured fertilizers and other soil conditioners our gardens require. Composting also reduces the amount

of methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, that is released into the air by food waste and other organic materials buried in landfills. On the home front, composting can help your garden grow by improving the health of your soil.

It also saves water by helping the soil hold moisture and reducing water runoff. Composting can also lower everyone’s garbage bills.

Although the practice is becoming more common, composting is not a new phenomenon in the Bay Area. San Francisco adopted a voluntary composting plan in 2004. Participants included more than 4,000 restaurants and food establishments, as well as an estimated 75,000 homeowners. Compost collectors like Golden Gate Disposal Recycling Company and Sunset Scavenger Company truck EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 7

q&A

does composting matter?

the compost to Jepson Prairie Organics, which is the main composter of San Francisco’s food wastes. Jepson receives about 5,200 tons of food scraps and 2,000 tons of yard trimmings per month. In about 90 days, those scraps are converted into compost that is sold to farmers for $12 a cubic yard.

Growers of wine grapes and other organic and non-organic farmers can’t seem to get enough. By utilizing compost in their soil, they claim they have healthier produce and increased yield. This produce is in turn sold in farmers’ markets and restaurants throughout the Bay Area, which return the bounty back to the earth by collecting compostable food scraps.

Through composting, large commercial establishments find their garbage collection bills have been reduced up to $1,600 a month.

In San Francisco it is estimated that every year more than 105,000 tons of food scraps and yard trimmings are diverted from landfills, which in turn creates 20,000 tons of compost. This compost is applied to over 10,000 acres of land per year.

The beauty of composting is that it is as easily accomplished on an individual scale as it is commercially. You can create your own compost to use on plants, trees, lawns, and gardens. To get started, you need to purchase or make a composting bin. The ideal bin size is three feet wide and three feet deep. Homeowners can contact their local county or municipal home-composting programs to purchase discounted bins (in Santa Clara County, an Earth Machine composting bin is available for $50; phone 408.918.4640). Place the bin in an area of your yard that is flat, has bare soil, and is easily accessible for your weekly compost ministrations.

Composting requires four essential ingredients: nitrogen, carbon, water, and air. Materials that produce nitrogen, termed “green wastes,” are landscape and grass clippings, eggshells, green leaves, coffee grounds, soiled paper, tea bags, and vegetable and fruit trimmings/peels. Carbon or “brown wastes” are dry yard and garden wastes such as dry leaves, fresh manure, twigs, hay, weeds, sawdust, and small wood materials. Collect these materials separately until you have enough to make a four-inch layer of each. Start with brown materials, place green materials on top, and then add just enough water to moisten (not drench) both layers. Continue this layering process until your bin is full. Materials such as meat, bones, poultry, fish, fatty food wastes, dairy, and human or pet feces are unsuitable for composting, and will wreck the eco-balance in your composting bin.

Water and air are essential to a hot, thriving compost pile. Materials won’t compost if they are too dry, and they will begin to smell if they don’t receive enough oxygen. Weekly turning and fluffing of the pile with a pitchfork allows for fresh air to work its way into the compost layers. An excellent way to test your moisture amount is to place your gloved hand in the middle of your pile and squeeze. If you can produce a few drops of water, your compost is doing fine. If not, add water by placing your hose in the middle of the pile, or add water as you do your weekly turning.

Free composting Compost is given away free on Friday and Saturday mornings from March to October in Cupertino (cupertino.org) and on Compost Giveaway Days in Palo Alto (cityofpaloalto.org).

8 | November 2009

Santa Clara County offers a free, two-hour workshop in composting at various locations a few times each month (phone 408.918.4640 or visit sccgov.org).

EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 9

stuff we like

Green Up Your Tool Shed

Countertop Composting

According to the EPA, gas-powered lawn and garden machines— mowers, trimmers, chain saws, leaf blowers, and more—produce up to 5% of the nation’s air pollution each year. Some gas lawn mowers can produce as much pollutants as 43 new cars being driven 12,000 miles every year. Electric, battery-operated, and even propane-powered equipment are far more eco-friendly than gas-powered. Get yours at greengardentools.com.

Need a place to hold your eggshells and coffee grounds before you take them to the backyard compost pile? Try a sleek countertop composter, like the 4.5-quart Norpro Bamboo Composter with an odorpreventing filter built into the lid. Available at Whole Foods or Drugstore.com (about $40).

Help for the Indecisive Eco-rate.com is a website for those of us who have trouble making sense of the eco-minded merits of one brand of faucet over another, or one model of TV versus another. Check it out before your next purchase.

Put a Cork In It Did you know that you can recycle natural cork from wine bottles at your local Whole Foods store? Whole Foods has teamed with ReCORK America to collect corks and recycle them into flooring tiles, building insulation, automotive gaskets, craft materials, soil conditioner, and sports equipment.

What stuff do you like? Nominate your favorite stuff by e-mailing us at editor@eucalyptusmagazine.com.

10 | November 2009

Organic Kids Get kids hooked on organic gardening with My First Organics.

These educational seed-starting kits grow garden favorites like snap peas and cherry tomatoes, which kids love to eat. The seeds and soil are organic, and every component of the kit is recyclable, reusable or biodegradable.

Available at Home Depot or myfirstorganics.com (about $17).

sandbox talk

calming bedtime strategies

by Jessica Iclisoy

As any parent knows, a good night’s sleep is a gift from the gods. For kids, the quality of nighttime slumber not only affects their mood but also their growing bodies. Kids’ bodies and brains need at least 10 or 11 hours of sleep each night in order to restore lost energy and sort through stores of information acquired each day.

Lack of sleep can leave kids unable to think clearly the next day and make it difficult for them to follow directions and stay on track in school. It is also believed that too little sleep can negatively affect children’s growth as well as their immune systems.

Bedtime can cause anxiety for children who don’t like to be separated from their parents and confusion for kids who don’t understand why they need to sleep when their parents are still awake. As a toddler, my son had a hard time dropping off to sleep, and now that he is older, I see that he is a night-owl. For him, a routine is vital.

Thankfully, there are plenty of things parents can do to help calm kids in advance of bedtime, so once the hour arrives they’re ready to fall asleep. Creating and consistently sticking to a calming bedtime ritual is key. Here are some tips on how to get your little one off to Dreamland: Calming foods Certain pre-bedtime snacks can help calm and soothe kids, such as a small bowl of plain yogurt. The

culturing process makes yogurt easier to digest than milk, but stay away from fruit flavors because the added sugar may cancel out the desired calming affect.

Aromatherapy Use calming scents such as lavender to help the body and mind unwind. A warm bubble bath is a fun bedtime routine.

Massage Gently massaging children of all ages while they lie in bed can help set the stage for sleep. Take your kids straight from the tub onto a favorite oversized towel lying on the bed. Massage them with gentle strokes. For a howto on baby massage, visit cbnaturalliving.com Story time There are many benefits of reading to your children before bed, including increasing their interest in reading, boosting their vocabulary, and of course, bonding with them. Plus, it’s a memory parents and their children will cherish.

A few things should not be included in a calming bedtime routine because they are detrimental to sleep. Watching TV, exercising, or being active too close to bedtime can make it difficult for kids to fall asleep.

Jessica Iclisoy is the founder of California Baby, a natural skincare line for babies, kids, and sensitive adults. Visit her website at californiababy.com.

EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 11

THE SMILE SPECIALIST

C

healthy, green, organic

& Actual Patient Mercury Free • Digital X-rays Tissue Reconturing • Bleaching

Dr. Douglas Larson

Campbell, CA • 408.374.6160 www. D r L a r s o n . n e t 12 | November 2009

Eucalyptus is available at these Bay Area locations: Whole Foods Markets Kepler's Books Barnes & Noble Borders Books Inc. Santana Row For other locations near you, email distribution@eucalyptusmagazine.com or call 866.797.6570 join us on facebook and twitter

small steps

eco-happy holidays The holidays are a time when we tend to spend more, travel more, entertain more, and unfortunately, do more damage to the environment. But with a little forethought, we can reduce the size of our holiday carbon footprint while still making merry. by lisa francesca season's greetings Although many holiday revelers have embraced the tradition of sending e-cards by e-mail, for true traditionalists, nothing will do but a “real” holiday card. If you’re in that camp, make sure the cards you buy are made from 100% recycled post-consumer waste (not just 100% recycled paper). Or, look for cards made of “treeless” materials such as hemp or Sweetpaper (sugar cane waste). Another green option is seed-embedded paper, to which the recipient simply adds water and wildflowers grow. A few companies specialize in eco-friendly greeting cards, including doodle-greetings.com, try not to fly sweetorganicsandnaturals.com, When you visit your family over the and greenfieldpaper.com. holidays, drive a fuel-efficient car party less hardy instead of flying—particularly if you If you’ve hosted a holiday dinner party have one or more people traveling for years and frankly, it exhausts you, with you. Even better, take the train here is your official permission to let it or bus. Of all means of travel, flygo for 2009. Just think of the energy, ing is the worst offender in terms expense, and aggravation saved, and of damage to the environment, yes, your friends and family will still especially for “short” hops like San love you. If you can’t forego your Francisco to Los Angeles, because yearly shindig, tread more lightly with takeoff and landing use the most these tips: Buy only local and organic fuel (and create the most CO2) in a flight. If you must fly, compensate produce and meats to serve your for that decision by making other guests. Defrost your freezer now, so it choices that will shrink your carbon will work more efficiently through the footprint, such as choosing locally winter. Unless you are baking desgrown fruits instead of cherries sert or roasting turkey, don’t bother imported from Chile, or unplugging preheating the oven. And turn the oven your computer and cell phone charoff a few minutes before the end of gers when they are not in use. Or, your cooking time—don’t let that ‘post mitigate your impact by purchasing cook’ heat go to waste. When it’s time a “carbon offset” from terrapass. to wash up, remember that the dry org or carbonfund.org, thus concycle of your dishwasher is the real tributing to clean and renewable energy suck: turn the machine off and energy projects. open the door to let the dishes dry.

wrap it up When it’s time to make your gifts look snazzy, consider that cloth has been used to wrap gifts in Japan for centuries. Gather scraps of pretty fabrics from the odds-n-ends pile at your local fabric store, then make your own reusable wrap.

get enlightened Whether you prefer the twinkling of white lights or the pizzazz of colored lights, use LEDs instead of old-fashioned bulbs. LEDs use as little as 1/160th of the energy of traditional holiday lights, and they look just as festive.

shop local, give local Must all our gifts be electronic gadgets or clothing imported from the other side of the planet?

Celebrate the cheer of the season with handmade, locally produced consumables. Shop at your neighborhood farmers’ market for a gift of honey from the Santa Cruz Mountains, handmade soaps or beeswax candles, or specialty cheeses or chocolates. Local nonprofit Village Harvest (villageharvest.org) offers jars of delicious jam from orchards in the Santa Clara Valley.

Lisa Francesca, a Campbell writer, conserves energy by unplugging appliances and taking frequent naps.

EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 13

the most rewarding and joyful aspects of life, but along with the delights come some nagging, yet valid concerns.

Many people worry that their furry companion may wander off and get lost, or even stolen. Increasingly, pet owners are addressing these fears by opting to microchip their animals. Microchips are grainof-rice-sized electronic chips that contain a serial number used to identify a pet and reconnect it with its owner. They are implanted under the pet’s skin, between the shoulder blades, using a hypodermic needle.

Santa Cruz Veterinarian Dr. Liz Devitt, who has microchipped her own pets, explains how the process works. “When a chipped animal is scanned, the reader shows a number that can be called into the chip manufacturer and matched to the name, address, and phone number of the owner,” she says. “When someone brings me a stray animal, I can scan them, find the chip and number, call the appropriate company, locate the owner, and reunite the lost pet with the owner.”

Devitt believes that all pets should be chipped—even indoor cats. “They're the ones who are the worst at fending for themselves outside their warm home,” she says.

microchipping your pet

by elizabeth mcgurn

One of the biggest mistakes Devitt sees among pet owners, beside not microchipping their pet at all, is not registering their animal once they have the chip implanted. If an animal has a microchip but the owner fails to register it with the microchip company, the chip is useless. The pet cannot be identified.

“I currently share my life with a great cat that was found astray—and microchipped— but I couldn't trace the owner, who never bothered to register with the microchip company,” Devitt says. “A microchip can't guarantee the safe return of a pet. A collar, tags, and recent photos are still important ID to locate a lost pet.”

It is generally known that microchips can be beneficial in keeping a pet safe, but even so, some pet owners are hesitant. They wonder if the chips are safe for their animal and if there are any side effects. Devitt 14 | November 2009

says that implanting a microchip is no more painful than a routine shot. Although it has been reported that microchips can migrate away from the injection site, Devitt says this problem is rare.

“I personally have only found chips as far away as the upper forearm,” she says.

Other complaints include infection or swelling at the injection site, but Devitt says she has not encountered these issues.

Microchipping is also affordable. Most local animal hospitals and veterinary clinics charge less than $100 for the service, and this often includes the fee for registering the microchip. Microchipping animals is becoming standard practice at many local animal shelters, so if you adopt an animal from the Humane Society or SPCA, be sure to ask the shelter if your new pet is already chipped and registered.

Local Microchipping Resources Bascom Animal Hospital $74, includes microchip registration fee 2175 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell 408.371.5630 Banfield, the Pet Hospital $30, includes registration fee 607 Coleman Ave., San Jose 800.768.8858 Mayfair Veterinary Hospital $45, plus $15 for microchip registration 2810 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose 408.258.2735 Lawrence Pet Hospital $86, includes registration fee 771 Lawrence Expressway, Santa Clara 408.296.3300 VCA Animal Hospital (Almaden Valley) $30, includes registration fee 15790 Almaden Expressway, San Jose 408.268.3550 Kindness Pet Hospital $44.30, includes registration fee 440 1st St., Los Altos 650.948.828

kyle chesser

pets corner

Owning a pet can be one of

EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 15

BE VEG. GO GREEN. SAVE THE PLANET

Vegetarian House

$15 Off any Spa Service.*

Organic Vegan Restaurant

The Spa ~ LoS GaToS (408) 354-5901 • www.thespalosgatos.com 100 s. santa cruz ave. • los gatos, ca 95030 *present this ad at time of check out for discount. May not be combined with any other offer. Waxing excluded. eXp. 12/15/09 euc-15

Compassionate Food For a Healthy Planet 520 E. Santa Clara St. San Jose, CA 95112 408.292.3798 | www.VegetarianHouse.us

16 | November 2009

Massage • Organic Facials • BOdy Therapy skin care • giFT BOuTique • giFT cards

By becky herbert

Thanksgiving Day

is hands-down my favorite day of the year on the farm. A golden glow hovers over the land for the entire day each Thanksgiving—a hue usually only seen during the last seconds of sundown. Below the sky, the tilled fields lie dormant in anticipation of the coming winter break.

No matter how rigorous the harvest season is, I know I can always count on a day of calm when all operations on our farm and neighboring farms cease, and for once, everyone can enjoy the land’s bounty.

I spend the morning wandering around the farm taking in the crisp, cool air in my lungs, picking the last fruit from the fig tree, and enjoying the company of my family. Often during workdays we are so busy we hardly have a minute to catch up. Preparing the Thanksgiving meal together gives us ample time to do that.

I have never been a fan of stuffing, so when mulling over what to contribute to our meal a couple years ago, I decided to go out on a limb and make vegetarian dressing in the hope that it would change my mind. Several of my family members had become vegetarians over the last couple of years, so I thought this would be a perfect new addition for all to enjoy.

By eliminating any turkey parts and including fresh, locally baked, organic bread as the base, along with locally grown carrots, celery, onions, parsley, apples, and walnuts, this stuffing recipe cured me of my distaste for dressing.

The many flavors combined together make an absolutely savory side dish, which has become a new family favorite.

kyle chesser

Becky Herbert is the owner of Eating with the Seasons, an agriculture program that delivers local organic food to residents all over the Bay Area. Visit her website at eatwiththeseasons.com.

Vegetarian Stuffing

6 cups diced bread 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil 1 medium onion, diced 3 stalks celery, sliced 2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced 1 ⁄4 teaspoon rosemary 1 ⁄4 teaspoon thyme 1 ⁄4 teaspoon sage 1 ⁄4 cup chopped fresh parsley 3 tablespoons raisins 1 ⁄2 cup walnuts 1 ⁄2 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1 1⁄2 cups vegetable stock 1 ⁄2 of a large apple, diced Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place diced bread in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and place in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the bread is well toasted.

Meanwhile, warm the butter or olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion, celery, and carrots over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Remove bread from the oven and add onion mixture, herbs, parsley, raisins, apple, nuts, and salt. Mix well. Carefully drizzle the stuffing with vegetable stock and toss gently. Bake, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes. Season with black pepper if desired. Serves 6-8 people.

rooted on the farm

a day of rest and thanks on the farm

staycation

Phil's Fish Market

Kayak Connection

Elkhorn Slough Safari

Captain's Inn B&B

Santa Cruz Watsonville

Moss Landing A

CRUISE THE WATERWAY For easy wildlife-watching, the top 100 places in the United States there’s no work involved in cruising on Elkhorn Slough for birdwatching, Elkhorn Slough is the Safari’s 27-foot pontoon boat. Just sit back and enjoy largest tract of tidal salt marsh outside the show, which typically includes dozens of harbor seals Salinas Monterey Bay of San Francisco Bay. More than 300 and sea otters and up to 50 different species of birds. bird species reside or migrate through, Captain Yohn Gideon will help you spot and identify them including endangered and threatened all. 831.633.5555, elkhornslough.com.

Monterey birds such as the brown pelican, CaliOGLE THE OTTERS There may be no better place in all fornia clapper rail, peregrine falcon, of California to observe sea otters playing, feeding, sleeping, and and California least tern. Elkhorn Slough Reserve offers five caring for their young than just off the Jetty Road parking lot miles of trails. Free docent-led walks are offered on weekends.

831.728.2822, elkhornslough.org, closed Mon.-Tues. at Moss Landing State Beach. Here, a calm lagoon of water is 18 | November 2009

victoria alexander

BIRD THE SLOUGH Rated as one of

Otter at Moss Landing State Beach

Thirty miles south of Santa Cruz, the hamlet of Moss Landing is a cluster of unpretentious antique shops, homespun art galleries, roadside knickknack stands, marine research centers, and slapping-fresh seafood restaurants. A mecca for wildlife lovers, Moss Landing and adjacent Elkhorn Slough are home to record numbers of land and shore birds, frolicking sea otters, and barking sea lions. by Ann Marie Brown

moseying in

moss landing

favored by these furry, frolicking creatures. It’s not uncommon to spot 50 otters within a 200-yard stretch of water. 831.649.2836, parks.ca.gov.

can quickly master the basics needed to propel their craft around the calm waters of Elkhorn Slough. Go on your own or sign up for a guided two-hour paddle. Monterey Bay Kayaks, 831.373.5357,

EAT WITH THE FISHES Phil’s Fish Market serves up a dizzy-

montereybaykayaks.com or Kayak Connection, 831.724.5692, kayakconnection.com.

ing array of fresh fish in ultra-casual, order-at-the-counter style.

Artichokes are prepared six ways, including fire-roasted and stuffed with garlic. On warm days, carry your plate out the back door to Moss Landing’s sandy beach. 831.633.2152, philsfishmarket.com.

PADDLE A KAYAK From the seat of a kayak, observe sea otters,

harbor seals, and water birds at eye level. Even novice paddlers

SLEEP IN A BOAT The 1906-vintage Captain's Inn B&B, once home to the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, is now a nautically themed inn. The “boat beds” in the newer river-view rooms are the real deal—converted fishing boats, canoes, and catamarans. A big breakfast and other goodies are included in the rate.

831.633.5550, captainsinn.com.

EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 19

from the

garden to thetable charlie ayers and jesse cool are raising the bar on local organic cooking.

At Palo Alto’s Calafia Café, the quintessential California eatery, Ayers lets organic ingredients take center stage in his eco-friendly dining room.

Jesse Cool of Menlo Park’s Cool Café and Flea Street Café grows her own produce, buys from local farmers, and makes compost in a business park. »

photography by kyle chesser 20 | November 2009

photogr

raphy by kyle chesser

Historic photos of Palo Alto line the earth-toned walls of Charlie Ayers’ Calafia Café.

by jennifer moscatello

charlie

charlie ayers » As legend tells it, Calafia was the Charlie Ayers name of a glorious Amazon warrior queen who ruled the checks the crust mythical island of California. Many believe that the state on his pizzas during the lunchof California is named after her. The beauty of the name hour bustle at resonated with Charlie Ayers, who first heard the story at a Calafia Cafe.

Grateful Dead concert in 1989.

“I was gushing to my friends who lived out here about how much I loved it and this woman standing behind us proceeded to tell us this story. I thought the name was so beautiful and thought it would be a great name for a restaurant. So I said to myself ‘One day if I have a restaurant in California, I’ll name it that,’ and I logged it away,” says Ayers.

Twenty years later in January of 2009, Calafia Café and Market A-Go-Go opened its doors in the Town and Country Village in Palo Alto. With a casual, contemporary café on one side and a market with an organic salad bar, madeto-order sandwiches, and healthy prepared foods on the other, Calafia has become one of the Peninsula’s go-to spots for people seeking out organic, sustainable fare.

Patrons can opt for a sit-down meal in the café or choose from a selection of reasonably priced, heat-and-eat dinners from the market, like a tofu lentil loaf or turkey meatloaf plus two side dishes ($26-28), an easy meal for three.

Calafia is elegant, earthy, and urban all at once. From the low-VOC paints and milk-bottle chandeliers to the recycled floorboards and Paperstone countertops, Ayers puts his green business practices in plain view. “There has to be complete connectivity in everything you do. It all has to be seamless,” he says.

Asked about how he handles refuse, Ayers points to a small garbage can just visible from behind the restaurant.

“We have compost waste, recyclables, and what’s considered trash. See that black garbage can over there? That’s where all the non-compostable, non-recyclable waste goes.” In comparison, the restaurant’s compostable bin is a large dumpster.

Ayers and his team plan serving sizes judiciously. Meals are designed to satisfy without overwhelming diners with oversized, heaping plates of food. If a customer ends up with more than he or she can eat, Calafia offers ecofriendly to-go containers. “We use corn-based plastic for all of our cold packaging, recycled paper boxes, and utensils made from potato starch,” Ayers says. Leftover food that isn’t served to restaurant patrons is used to lend a hand in the community. “Every morning we have two different shelters that come pick up from us—our bakery items or leftover food items that can’t be resold or reused from our hot case in the market.”

Does Ayers’ passion for green living extend beyond work to his home life? “When we remodeled our home we did as much of a green remodel as we could,” says Ayers.

“Our swimming pool is filled with salt water; our garden landscape has as much of the natural California plant life as possible. So I try to walk my talk.”

Ayers started working in restaurants as a teenager living in New Jersey. After attending culinary school at Johnson & Wales University, he took on posts with several well-known restaurants on the eastern seaboard. When 22 | November 2009

charlie ayers continued on page 24

A Chat With Charlie What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Going to see live music. Steve Kimock in particular, or ALO, Phish, or the Grateful Dead.

Who is your favorite chef?

My two good friends Ken Orringer and Ming Tsai. They both own restaurants in Boston.

Seen any movies lately?

I wanted to check out Julie and Julia.

My friends were telling me, “That’s a chick flick! Why do you want to go to see that?” And I was like, “It’s about JULIA.” I met her in 1987 when I was in culinary school and she was a guest at a dinner that I was helping to put together. I woke up in the middle of the night and realized that I hadn’t converted the recipe [for an apple and brandy sorbet] correctly. I put in more brandy than fruit so it never really sat.

It froze up. My instructor knew that I had messed up, but Julia pronounced it “the most delightful and unusually warming sorbet.”

What is your can’t-do-without ingredient?

Beets. I’m often teased by a friend of mine, “What, no beets on the menu?”

by ann marie brown

jesse

Jesse Cool checks for ripe beans in her garden on Stanford University’s open space land.

jesse cool » If there is a poster child for organic food and healthy eating, Jesse Cool must be it. Even without a drop of makeup and wearing a T-shirt that bears the word “DIRT”—a tribute to her passion for farming—Cool looks like a very attractive 40-something. Except she’s 60.

Sure, she runs the trails at the Stanford Dish (the open space land near the linear accelerator center) and lifts weights at the gym. But what keeps Cool on top of her game, she says, is good, fresh food.

“I primarily eat a diet of whole, organic, real food and I think the body knows how to process that better than artificial or processed foods,” she says. “But I am so imperfect. I follow the 80/20 principle. I try to do the best I can 80 percent of the time.

The rest of the time, I’m not perfect.”

Cool has just opened a new restaurant, Cool Café, in Menlo Business Park. Its understated interior pays tribute to her conservation-minded business ethos—the same practices that garnered her signature restaurant, Flea Street Café, a coveted green business certification from San Mateo County. Tabletops and countertops are made of bamboo. Floors are painted concrete. The lighting is low-voltage. Flatware is either reusable bamboo or “spudware,” made from potatoes and compostable. The jesse cool continued on page 24 EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 23

charlie ayers continued on page 36

Jesse Cool shows off one of her egg-laying organic chickens.

24 | November 2009

jesse

charlie

only beverages sold are in glass bottles, not plastic, because glass is more easily recycled.

Patrons at Cool Café find a very simple menu with only one hot entree each day, perhaps a meatloaf or a vegetarian strata, priced at about $8. The minimalist menu is a carefully planned strategy in Cool’s ecominded efforts.

“Simplifying the menu saves manpower, storage, and waste,” says Cool. “It’s about values. It sounds trite but this is what we are all about. Even the cleaning agents we use are far beyond plant-friendly,” she says. “You can eat this stuff.”

Monday through Friday, Cool Café makes lunch for many of the 3,000 people who work in the Menlo Business Park, but this is no ordinary cluster of cubicles. In the parking lot outside the café, Cool’s landlord has created an “edible landscape” according to Cool’s specifications. The pavement is broken up with citrus trees, lavender, rosemary, and other plants that can be used in the kitchen. A compost pile is in the works.

“I’ve entered another community here,” Cool says. “We are creating a community in this place.”

This is the same go-the-extra-mile energy that Cool puts into her other projects, like her work at Stanford University Hospital, where she has revamped their dietary program to include as much organic and local food as possible, including strawberries from Watsonville, whole-grain bread from a San Francisco bakery, and grass-fed beef from Marin and Sonoma. Cool’s soup recipes, including carrot ginger with curry and roasted sweet pepper with goat cheese, are a staple on the patients’ new menu.

“This is deeply challenging work, and it’s never been done before,” she says. “Stanford is taking responsibility around the issues of food jewels from jesse and healing. They make 4,000 meals a What is your favorite day, and now they are cooking chicken guilty pleasure? soup from whole, organic chickens.”

Gin martinis.

Cool’s influence at Stanford Hospital Who is your favorite chef? extends beyond the health benefits of I have always learned the most organics to the sustainable practices about food from my farmer friends. of the kitchen. “Everything on the They keep me connected to how to tray is recyclable, re-usable, or comkeep it simple, respect pure flavors, postable now,” she says. “It was a keep it as fresh as possible. struggle, but we did away with all the plastic wrapping.”

Seen any movies lately?

Stanford and Cool share more organic I saw the screening of Botany of connections. Cool is the chef-proprietor Desire, a documentary based on the of the Cool Café at the Cantor Center for book by Michael Pollan. I was there the Visual Arts on Stanford’s campus. primarily because the filmmakers And she tends her half-acre garden on are dear friends. It was fantastic and Stanford Open Space land, right next to I encourage people to make sure and the running path. The garden, where her see it when it shows on PBS. two grandchildren like to play, has apple, What is your fig, and plum trees, plus an overflowing can’t-do-without ingredient? abundance of vegetables. Cool was new Eggs. That’s why I have chickens. My to gardening when she began tilling the sons know that I always have fresh soil five years ago, but she is a savvy eggs, good cheese, fresh vegetables, farmer now: “I knew I had made the butter, and olive oil in the kitchen. grade when I found myself saying, ‘That With those ingredients, I can always is the most beautiful compost pile!’” make something wonderful.

Jesse Cool continued on page 36

the West beckoned, he pulled up stakes and moved to Northern California. In 1992, Ayers interviewed for a position with Alice Waters, renowned chef and coowner of Chez Panisse and advocate of locally grown and organic food. It was a pivotal moment in shaping Ayers’ career. “[Waters] said to me, ‘You won’t work out here; this is not a place for you.’ And I asked ‘Why?’ And she proceeded to tell me about the importance of supporting local farms and organic food. I was really offended because up until that point I had never been turned away by a chef… and so I wanted to learn as much as I could about this whole organic movement that I wasn’t qualified for or had no experience with.”

Shortly thereafter, while catering a music festival, Ayers met the founder of Muir Glen Tomatoes. “He said to me, ‘What do organic foods mean to you, Charlie?’ and I said, ‘It’s about foods that are free of chemicals and as pure as can be.’ He said, ‘Let me make it a little simpler for you. It’s about not having petroleum distillates in your food.’ That really piqued my interest.

That’s where I really got the spark. And that’s when I started implementing the use of organic products in everything that I was doing.”

Ayers passion for organics led him to a job running the prepared food department at Whole Foods Markets, and then to his muchstoried tenure as Google’s head chef—a position he held from the startup days in 1999 until 2005.

While growing an organic garden at home is one of the best ways to ensure a steady flow of produce at a minimal cost, Ayers admits he doesn’t have one. “I have a big dog at home, and there’s no stop-

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east and west

the healing powers of complementary medicine

rustrated with health care on a national level, many AmeriCAM costs amount to 11.2% of total out-of-pocket expenditures on cans see the need to take greater personal responsibility for their health care. These figures support the idea that for many people, own health. For some, that means shifting from conventional traditional Western medicine, which focuses primarily on treating Western medicine to Eastern ways of healing. Integrating the two symptoms and alleviating pain, is not necessarily the best path to forms of medicine—thinking of them as complementary rather optimum health. As an alternative, the appeal of CAM is its focus than competitive—is a novel approach that is gaining popularity. on illness prevention and maintaining health.

The 2007 National Statistics Health Report by the U.S. Centers “That’s the future of health care. We named our clinic Prevenfor Disease Control and Prevention found that 83 million adults tative Medicine for a reason,” says Morgan Huynh, office manspent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on compleager of Silicon Valley Preventative Medicine by desiree hedberg mentary and alternative medicine, or CAM. and Natural Medicinary, a newly opened EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 27

naturopathic clinic in Campbell. “Why get on an operating table if you can avoid that entire process?”

Dr. Kevan Huynh and Dr. Tracy Chan, the doctors who started this small clinic, also see it that way. “I grew up with the mindset that I was going to go into conventional medicine,” says Chan. “After researching naturopathic medicine, I really resonated with the principles of that medicine, compared to the conventional medical model.”

After talking with other doctors to gather their opinions on conventional versus non-traditional practices, Chan was surprised to learn that if given a second chance at their education and training, very few of them would chose the conventional path.

“It’s the whole politics behind conventional medicine—not being able to practice what they intended to practice before they entered medical school … [they] wanted to help people and treat people … but they are under strict confines to do limited treatment times and insurance,” Chan says. “Looking into naturopathic medicine--that was a whole new door for me.

And it opened my eyes and really resonated with my own philosophy.”

Doctors Chan and Huynh hold the degree of “ND” (naturopathic doctor), which in many ways is equivalent to “MD”. Like an MD, an ND undergoes a multi-year medical school program, learning how to diagnose disease, what standard treatments are applied, and the proper uses and side effects of

east and west

Practicing Qi Gong may alleviate many health problems. It requires no special attire or equipment, and can be done anywhere—in the office, at home, or at the park.

28 | November 2009

conventional drugs. NDs must be recertified on their pharmacology education every two years. NDs can prescribe medicines, but typically, they choose not to.

“Prevention is the key,” says Huynh. “Prevention is within our six basic principles of naturopathic medicine.” Those are: 1. Do no harm 2. Treat the patient as a whole (mind, body and spirit) 3. Treat the cause, not the symptoms 4. Heal thyself: use the power of nature and harness the body’s natural inclination to heal itself 5. Prevention 6. Doctor as teacher: your doctor acts as your educator in preventative health Both Huynh and Chan also hold MS degrees in Oriental Medicine. This means they can mix their own herbal remedies. Their clinic has a natural medicinary with more than 250 professional-grade herbs available for treating patients. “[Our practice is] unique because we customize all of our formulas and our herbs. We put them together for the patient, tailor them very specifically to the patient, according to their symptoms and pathologies,” says Huynh.

Qi Gong therapy is another Eastern treatment offered at Huynh’s and Chan’s practice. “Qi” means energy; “Gong” means work, so Qi Gong is the methodology for the work of energy. Qi Gong is often considered a form of stress reduction, but according to Chan, it can also prevent ailments and alleviate physical and mental health issues from insomnia to hypertension.

The practice is based on the duality of yin and yang. It harmonizes the yin and the yang, so that the patient may go from one to another easily.

ian young

Doctors Huynh and Chan mix their own herbal remedies. Their on-site medicinary stocks more than 250 herbs.

Dr. Tracy Chan performs an acupressure treatment to relieve migraine headaches.

“[Qi Gong] builds your inner energy, or Qi,” says Chan. “Say someone with hypertension comes in… we teach them the style of Qi Gong that will help them ground themselves, and bring down the energy, so that it doesn’t all scatter,” says Huynh.

The first step in Qi Gong therapy is to treat some of the symptoms. For example, sitting in front of the computer too long can lead to fatigue and numbness in the arms, wrists, or hands. Qi Gong practice can help to alleviate or eliminate this fatigue, by increasing the blood flow and energy flow within the body.

Huynh says, “First [the patient] experiences symptom release, but eventually, [we] will teach them a much deeper form that allows them to cultivate their inner energy, their essence.”

A typical treatment visit to Chan’s and Huynh’s clinic is unlike any that you might experience at a Kaiser facility or Blue Cross provider’s office. The clinic’s muted colors and quiet space are designed to make patients feel at ease. Unlike at a Western doctor’s office, a patient’s first visit lasts nearly an hour. Often the doctors will run a series of tests based on the patient’s symptoms or concerns.

A typical test involves spitting into a vial during different times of the day to show changes in cortisol levels—a direct correlation to how stressed the body is during different parts of the day. That information is then discussed in a followup visit to determine the mind and body connection causing the ailment.

Huynh gives an example of a patient suffering from an ulcer. An ND initially runs multiple tests and talks at length with the patient about symptoms and causes. In sharp contrast, a Western MD might spend 10 minutes with the EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 29

Dr. Kevan Huynh mixes a custom tincture for strengthening the immune system.

30 | November 2009

Despite their years of medical training, Huynh and Chan are unable to accept health insurance at their clinic because most conventional medical plans do not even recognize naturopathy as a valid form of treatment. And although Chan and Huynh offer naturopathy, Qi Gong therapy, and acupuncture as alternatives to conventional Western medicine, they prefer to view their treatments as complementary options. Chan emphasizes that if something arises for a patient during an exam that she cannot help with, she doesn’t hesitate to offer integrative therapy—a combination of Eastern and Western medicine.

“We make an effort to refer out whenever we deem necessary,” says Chan. “We will gladly work hand-in-hand with [conventional doctors].”

For example, as an ND, Chan will work with cancer patients to alleviate the uncomfortable symptoms that result from chemotherapy and radiation. The idea is to lessen the side effects, but not interfere with the Western treatment.

“We want the patient to benefit from both worlds—East and West,” says Huynh. “We can bridge the gap.”

Silicon Valley Preventative Medicine and Natural Medicinary, 408.879.8588, svprevmed.com.

Desiree Hedberg, a writer and editor living in Willow Glen, continually seeks to lives a healthy and sustainable lifestyle while co-parenting two toddlers, working as a consultant, and going back to school.

ian young

patient, refer him or her for an endoscopy, then prescribe a strong antacid and a “wait and see” approach.

An ND looks for what is causing the problem—why the body became vulnerable enough to create an ulcer in the first place.

“The goal is to figure out what is going on, what’s causing this ulcer, and tailor the treatment plan. The long term [goal] is to heal the ulcer,” says Huynh.

According to the principles of naturopathic medicine, food reactions and allergies are commonly the cause of physical maladies or lowered immunity that lead to larger illnesses. Chan emphasizes the importance of health-optimizing food; she also focuses on “energetic” food. Her food recommendations take into account the energy levels that are found in foods. “[Eat] whole grains, non-processed foods—preferably organic when possible… just going with anything green is a plus,” says Chan.

Both doctors advocate an anti-inflammatory diet, which steers clear of foods that can cause inflammation— a forerunner to disease and health issues. Each treatment is tailored specifically to individual patients, but typically the doctors recommend avoiding these foods: Wheat Substitutes: quinoa flour, rice flour, tapioca flour, amaranth flour Dairy Substitutes: goat milk, rice milk, hemp milk, almond or any nut milk Soy Substitutes: any types of beans or legumes Sugar Substitutes: raw honey (not intended for children younger than one year) Eggs Although there are few substitutes for eggs, the doctors say that organic, cage-free eggs are better than regular eggs.

east and west

David Wertheim traveled with his sons to the Mexicali Valley in Mexico, where his Sacramento church group volunteered to help a poverty-stricken village.

Darren Takegami

Tough economic times brought us the “staycation”—a vacation spent at home or close to it. But there’s another version of the traditional vacation that offers budget-priced leisure time, adventure, a change of scenery, and a huge bonus—the possibility of making a difference in the world.

In 2004, Mark and Jennifer Storm were living in San Jose and had gained some experience participating in local volunteering programs, such as providing Thanksgiving meals. When offered an opportunity to travel to the Philippines to help out at an orphanage and summer camp facility, they hesitated at the idea of using up their entire year’s vacation allotment—two weeks—on one trip. Nonetheless, they decided to go.

“We spent some time with the children at the orphanage and we helped build a gym at the summer camp facility,” says Storm. “[My wife] Jenn got to put on a gymnastics clinic for the kids. The building work was muddy and quite difficult. We felt like beasts of burden, just moving mud, rocks, sand, and cement from one hole or pile to another. Surprisingly, we loved it. We were helping people and touching their lives in a very real way.”

The Storm family found such passion in their work that they made a life-changing decision and joined the Christian non-profit ServLife. They now live and work in Kathmandu, Nepal. “When we bought our house in San Jose, we thought we were there for the long haul,” Storm says. “But as we experienced then and a thousand more times since moving [to Kathmandu], all plans are subject to change.”

Volunteer vacation possibilities are as varied as traditional travel options: Volunteers are needed to help protect sea turtles in Greece, Mexico, Thailand, and Costa Rica.

An organic farm in southern Oregon seeks volunteers to do farm chores such as weeding, construction, irrigation, and meal prep. Schools in Ghana and Honduras need volunteers to teach music to children.

And the entire family can take part. David Wertheim of Sacramento persuaded his children to join in a youth volunteer trip to Mexico sponsored by Bayside Church in Granite Bay. His twin sons, both high school freshmen, were not thrilled about their dad’s vacation choice.

“My sons’ reaction was something like, ‘Let’s see, one week [spent] trekking over 1,200 miles

by carolina moore EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 33

You can also begin your volunteering vacation in your home. Charities like the Salvation Army are always looking for food and clothing donations. By spending part of your vacation cleaning out closets and cupboards, you aren’t just removing clutter, you are giving it an opportunity to help in the community.

What it costs

round-trip to work in the dirt with poor people and sleep in tents in the desert?’”

Wertheim accompanied the boys on the youth trip as an adult supervisor and driver.

“On the trip I gave them plenty of latitude to pretend I wasn’t even there. We checked in every morning and evening,” Wertheim says. “By day three I asked them about their experiences and the floodgates came crashing open. They were having a fantastic time.

They were with their friends and working with people who were so appreciative. They were hooked for life.”

Wertheim was hooked, too. He has since made the trip 11 times, often in the company of his wife.

Although many volunteer vacationers plan their trips far in advance, Gisele Perez of San Francisco felt compelled to volunteer immediately after the post-Katrina flooding in New Orleans. A graduate of the California Culinary Academy who was born in New Orleans, Perez was able to put her job skills to good use in a primitive kitchen in the devastated city.

“I was deeply disturbed by what was happening there after Hurricane Katrina—its virtual abandonment by our government, and the loss of life and homes,” says Perez.

“I felt so helpless. I didn't have much money, didn't have skills to build houses, but I knew I could cook, so that's what I did.”

volunteering resources globalvolunteers.org A nonprofit

offering one- to three-week volunteer vacation opportunities both internationally and within the United States. transitionsabroad.com A portal for volunteer work and vacations abroad. planeterra.org Supports sustainable

community development through travel and voluntourism.

Local Options

servlife.org Uses Christian missionary

Although volunteering abroad allows you to travel to new places, a visit to your local library or favorite search engine will bring up a list of local volunteering opportunities. Habitat for Humanity is known for its volunteer programs around the globe, but the homebuilding nonprofit also runs a myriad of local projects, allowing volunteers to participate for as little as half a day. Jennifer Simmons, Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity, says, “When you help build a house, you aren’t just helping that family.

You are helping change the life of the families to come. We find that the members of the family go on to be homeowners, go to college, and become real parts of the community.”

You don’t need to have any special skills to work at a Habitat job site. Volunteers are trained to help with the day’s work, which might be landscaping, framing, siding, plumbing, or anything else construction-related. But there is more to do than swing a hammer; Habitat for Humanity and other charities are always in need of volunteers to answer phones or stuff envelopes.

The Sierra Club also offers volunteer vacations at the national or local level. Their “service trips” to parks and public lands involve building and maintaining trails, restoring wilderness areas, helping archaeologists do research, and cleaning up trash and illegal campsites. Here in the Bay Area, service trips often entail eradicating non-native plants from our local parks.

techniques to alleviate human suffering in impoverished nations.

34 | November 2009

commongroundrelief.org Provides

assistance to the beleaguered New Orleans community of the Lower Ninth Ward. sierraclub.org Sponsors service trips

to parks and public lands across the United States. For local opportunities, visit lomaprieta.sierraclub.org/volunteer.asp. habitatforhumanity.org Helps low-

income families build and own their own homes. For the South Bay office, visit habitatsiliconvalley.org. satruck.org The Salvation Army accepts donations of food, clothing, and time. For South Bay locations, visit sanjose.satruck.org.

Jennifer Storm

Mark Storm of San Jose hefts a sack of gravel while helping to build a kids’ summer camp in the Philippines in November 2004.

The price of volunteer vacations varies widely. Just because you are volunteering doesn’t mean you don’t pay for travel expenses, such as airfare. Meals and lodgings may or may not be provided as part of your trip. International volunteer trips often costs thousands of dollars; local volunteer opportunities tend to be less expensive.

Make sure you ask lots of questions to find out what kind of financial investment you are expected to make. Consider asking your friends, family, and any organizations you belong to for sponsorships, or gifts of supplies.

And check with your tax advisor to see if the costs of your trip may be tax-deductible.

a Building Dave new&house Rose a house with needed new forfor this pastor an older older woman.JPG kids friends.jpg living atwoman.jpg woman condtions an orphanage.jpg 2.jpg at the dump.JPG

EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 35

jesse

charlie

charlie ayers continued from page 24

ping Elliott. He’s all things big and full of love. He loves to dig and he feels that if it’s part of the earth, it’s his.”

Instead, Ayers relies on the bounty of nearby farms.

“We get as much as we possibly can from local farmers.

They love what they do and they believe in it; I feel that it’s our responsibility to support them as much as we can.

I’m lucky that I have a lot of guys who come here to me.

I have someone coming this afternoon… he’s providing chili peppers he grows in East Palo Alto, lettuces, onions, herbs. He’s very close and it’s super fresh.”

People with gluten and other sensitivities can indulge worry-free at Calafia. “We’re very cautious about the ingredients we use. We recently rolled out a quinoa pasta for people who have food allergies, and we’re using as many rice products as we can. We

jesse cool continued from page 24

Cool’s garden plays a part in Stanford’s STEP program, in which elementary school teachers learn about organic food and gardening. One of Cool’s missions is to teach the teachers how to cook. At the start, many insist that they can’t boil water, and yet the class always ends with a delicious meal they’ve made on their own.

“We are disconnected from cooking,” Cool says. “In our modern world, we have lost our connection to food. First we forgot how to cook; then we forgot where our food comes from.”

Food sources are of primary importance to Cool. She gets wild salmon for her restaurants from Seattle, but to avoid the environmental toll of shipping it to the Bay Area, she has it delivered by a Stanford professor who drives up to Washington once a month to visit his second home. “It’s frozen on the boat, and it’s the best salmon I’ve ever tasted,” she says.

Cool is well-known for supporting local farmers; her Menlo Park restaurants Late for the Train and Flea Street Café were serving organic food in the early 1980s long before it was popular, and she

The greenhouse and the chicken coop provide shelter for flora and fauna in Jesse Cool’s garden.

make sure we don’t use peanuts anywhere in the dining room. Most everything we have is easily modified to meet someone’s lifestyle or dietary needs.”

Looking to the future, Ayers hopes to see Calafia’s reach extend beyond Palo Alto and even California, bringing fast, raw, and organic food to people across the country. His long-term plans for “more restaurants to oversee and manage and grow,” are just part of his goal to “help people eat better.” As Ayers states in his book, Food 2.0, Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google, “Each meal is an opportunity to make a difference—in your body and in your world.”

was buying goods from small, local farms long before it was convenient to do so. “It was hard to get [organic food] delivered to the Peninsula. The trucks stopped at San Francisco and Berkeley. I had to drive up to Niman Ranch [in Marin] myself.”

The organic food industry has changed a lot in recent years, but Cool says there are still difficulties: “Sometimes it’s really hard working with local farms. It’s so hard for a farmer to step off his farm to sell produce, or to deliver produce. It has to be sustainable for them, too.”

Asked how busy people can find the time to create fresh, organic meals at home, Cool says, “We need to give ourselves way more permission to be soulful. We forget about the great joy we can get from feeding each other. Last night I cooked for my mother. She is 89 and suggested that we go out for In-N-Out burgers. I said, ‘Mom, let me cook for you.’ And I went into the garden and got some vegetables and made some pasta. And we ate and talked and she just loved everything. And I said, ‘Mom, you just fed me.’”

Calafia Café: Town & Country Village, 855 El Camino Real, Palo Alto; 650.322.9200, calafiapaloalto.com.

Cool Café: 1525 O'Brien Drive, Menlo Park, 650.325.3665, cooleatz.com.

Recycled milk-bottle chandeliers cast a warm glow over the communal table at Calafia Café.

36 | November 2009

resource guide products | services | advice

Alternative | Eco | Environmental | Green | Healthy | Integrative | Local Natural | Nutritious | Organic | Renewable | Reusable | Sensitive | Sustainable

Goodman Chiropractic

Dr. Charles D. Goodman, D.C., M.S. 751 Blossom Hill Rd., Suite A1, Los Gatos, CA 95032 408.358.8180 | goodmanchiro.com

Bikram Yoga San Jose Michele Vennard

5289-A Prospect Rvoad, San Jose, CA 95129 408.255.9910 | bikramyogasanjose.com

Dr. Goodman offers a relaxed and focused environment meeting his patient's needs with Chiropractic, extremities management (for shoulder, knee, ankle, feet, and hand injuries), nutritional counseling and support, physiotherapy, and massage services available seven days a week.

With 40 classes each week and certified Bikram Yoga instructors, our friendly, comfortable and casual studio is a welcoming place for you to learn yoga, get started on a new health regime, or continue to improve your Bikram Yoga practice.

Peter G. Shutts A.I.A., Architect

Yogic Beauty

4133 Mohr Avenue, Suite H, Pleasanton, CA 94566 925.484.0903

Small, award winning multi-disciplined architectural firm emphasizing green technology in custom home design, remodels, and additions. Covering Northern California, we incorporate green products into every residential and commercial project. Free consultation.

Rayna Lumbard, LMFT InnerSuccess Transformations

20688 Fourth Street, Suite 8, Saratoga, CA 95070 408.358.3756 | InnerSuccess.com Rayna is a Holistic Marriage and Family Therapist, Hypnotherapist, Psychospiritual Energy Healer, and Workshop Facilitator. She empowers individuals, couples, and families to live joyful, authentic, and abundant lives by healing core issues on all levels mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Ultrapure~Beyond Organic~ Body and Skin Care Beauty Secrets from the Himalayas for Radiance & Clarity 408.355.5562 | yogicbeauty.com

All our rare & exquisite products are lovingly handcrafted in small batches from the highest quality ingredients.

Ayurvedic Diet & Lifestyle Consultations, Pancha KarmaDetox Therapies & Yoga Therapy for internal and external vibrant health & beauty.

Wild Bird Center of Los Gatos Freddy Howell

792 Blossom Hill Road, Los Gatos, CA 95032 408.358.WILD (9453) | wildbird.com/stores/los/home We are a mini department store for nature lovers, specializing in everything to do with bird feeding and bird watching. We offer a complete line of products including feeders, birdbaths, nest boxes, binoculars, nature themed clothing and jewelry; books and field guides, kids stuff and many great gift items. $5 off your purchase of $20 or more.

*Certified Bay Area Green Business

EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 37

Classical Homeopathy

Deborah Hayes CCH RSHom(NA) MBRCP(H) CCHH 2672 Bayshore Parkway, Suite 810 650.557.2160 | realhomeopathy.com

Homeopathy is a versatile, safe, and effective system of natural medicine, with in-depth health consultations and individually selected remedies to improve your energy, mood, and well being and address your unique health concerns.

*Oak Meadow Dental

Dr. Robert Dyer and Dr. Christina Fantino 210 Oak Meadow Dr, Los Gatos, CA 90532 408.395.1121 | oakmeadowdental.com

Yoga Fitness

Linda Bonney Bostrom & Jito Yumibe 1 West Campbell Ave, B29, Campbell, CA 95008 408.777.YOGA (9642) | iyoga.com

We offer Yoga classes taught in the Iyengar tradition. We have classes 7 days a week, and we have classes for every level of student from brand new beginners to more experienced and advanced. Our studio is newly remodeled and fully equipped. We welcome you.

e11even salon & boutique Kandi Armstrong

2360 S. Bascom Ave., Suite H, Campbell, CA 95008 408.371.4155 | e11evensalon.com

At Oak Meadow Dental, we are a team. Each part of the team participates: doctor, staff, and patient. This way, we ensure that everybody is happy with the outcome. Only with teamwork can excellence be achieved. We are proud to be a Certified Bay Area Green Business.

A hip, vibrant and comfortable space—that’s what our guests experience at e11even. We boast skilled staff that continually seeks education and inspiration. Our boutique offers unique and whimsical items to complement your new look. Experience it for yourself!

*Healthy Smiles Dental Care

Qiworks—Return to Balance

Arta Vakhshoori, D.D.S.

5595 Winfield Blvd. #108, San Jose, CA 95123 408.226.6683 | iHealthySmiles.com Arta Vakshoori, D.D.S. and her team provide state-of-theart technology in biological dentistry, including drill-less laser for your comfort, early detection, safety in removal of mercury fillings, and preservation for your natural tooth in a healthy, healing environment.

Healing the Zebra Arts Center Nancy A. Ries

3648 Hoover Street, Redwood City, CA 94063 650.299.1194 | HealingTheZebra.com A new healing arts center in a geodesic dome offers creative arts classes focusing on the body-mind-spirit for personal development. More than fifteen instructors teach workshops including tantric yoga, health movement, painting, creative writing, enactment, and more.

Peter Lyon General Contractor, Inc. Peter Lyon

1610 Dell Avenue, Suite D, Campbell, CA 95008 408.871.8665 | peterlyon.com Award winning residential remodeling firm, serving discerning Santa Clara County homeowners for over 32 years. Personalized customer service, combined with sustainable and healthy design, yield unique remodeling experiences.

*Certified Bay Area Green Business

38 | November 2009

7291 Coronado Drive #1, San Jose, CA 95129 408.761.2679 | qiworks.net

At Qiworks we are dedicated to instilling wellness into your being while enhancing your vital energy through Qigong and bodywork. Qigong is an ancient, potent, Chinese Medicine. Call and mention this ad and receive a free Qi evaluation.

The Alexander Technique Barbara Maloney

408.356.0234 | barbaramaloney.com Recover the natural postural support that allows you to release tension, improve breathing, relieve pain and do what you do with more skill and ease. Lessons are enjoyable, relaxing, and interesting. Barbara has 20 years experience helping people of all abilities.

Improve Your Language Skills Debbie Wachsberg

408.393.3726 | debbiewachsberg@gmail.com I can help you tackle American English language skills and dramatically improve your pronunciation and help remove obstacles that stand in the way of smooth, fluid, and articulate speech. Over 20 years experience. Private lessons, small group classes and tutoring.

Grow your business with us

To advertise, call

408.335.4778

EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 39

tidbits

100,000+ Bag it ˙ Every year, Americans throw away some 100 billion plastic bags after they've been used to transport a prescription home from the drugstore or a quart of ice cream from the grocery store. Reusable canvas or cloth shopping bags are an easy answer to the plastics problem—a simple fix that costs almost nothing. BY steve scheifer

1 Only

1%

of plastic bags are recycled worldwide, and about 2% in the United States.

It costs more to recycle a bag than to produce a new one.

Sources: blueoceansociety.org, savesfbay.org, unep.org

Advertisers’ Index

40 | November 2009

More than 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die every year from eating or getting entangled in plastic.

46,000 The number of pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean.

22,000 Data released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shows that somewhere between 500 billion and one trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year.

500 billion

American Heart Association Aqui Cal-Mex Grill Arta Vakhshoori, D.D.S. B Corporation Babycoo Barbara Maloney Bikram Yoga San Jose Calafia Café California Baby Claire Adalyn Wright, MFT Confidence Landscaping, Inc. CoolEatz Restaurants and Catering Debbie Wachsberg Deborah Hayes Classical Homeopathy Decor Outdoor Living & More Dr. Charles Goodman, Chiropractor Dr. Douglas Larson, D.D.S.

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By using cloth bags, you can save 6 plastic bags per week (on average), or more than 22,000 plastic bags over the average human lifetime.

10%

Plastic bags account for more than 10% of the debris washed up on the United States coastline.

3/2/2007 The date that San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban plastic bags.

Dr. Inna Davydova, D.D.S. e11even salon & boutique Eating with the Seasons Eulipia Restaurant & Bar Frank Schiavo Solar Home Design Hands On Photography Healing the Zebra HLD Group Landscape Architecture Icing on the Cake Los Gatos Health and Fitness Oak Meadow Dental Center Peter G. Shutts Architect Peter Lyon General Contractor, Inc. Planet Orange Qiworks—Return to Balance Rayna Lumbard, LMFT REC Solar

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San Francisco Herb & Natural Food Co. Santana Row Schurra’s Fine Confections Stewart & Soss Stirling Properties SunWize Technologies Tarragon The Spa—Los Gatos Tomato Thyme Vegetarian House Village California Bistro Wente Vineyards Wild Bird Center of Los Gatos William H. Fry Construction Company Yoga Fitness Iyengar Tradition Yogic Beauty Yogic Medicine Institute

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