Saratoga News
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Saratoga Sampler
Cubes healthy for babies, make life easier for moms
By Mary Ann Cook
BABY CUBES: Here's a new product designed to make life easier for mothers and healthier for infants. It's called Baby Cubes and More--vegetables and fruits in frozen, 1-inch cube form. The founder is Iria Nishimura, who has spent 20 years in the health-care field.
With that background, Nishimura ensures that her product is organic and nutritious, and certainly more than a cut above the bottled version in tastiness. Besides which, it's easy to prepare: What could be easier than plucking it from the freezer to come to room temperature, or microwaving? Baby Cubes should be quite a boon for babies on the road, too.
Nishimura was a registered nurse for 10 years, and was in healthcare management for another 10. She developed baby cubes after her own babies were born, starting in '01. Other mothers were enthused about the product, and thus a business was born.
Based in San Jose, Nishimura will provide samples and take sign-ups for Baby Cubes at the Los Gatos Farmers Market starting Oct. 15. The website is www.mynami.com. About that website name: It's a combination of languages. Nishimura is Finnish, and her husband is Japanese. In Finland, "nami" means delicious and in Japanese the word means wave. Hence, Baby Cubes is a delicious wave.
CANCER AWARENESS: Notre Dame H.S., an all-girls school in San Jose, held a Breast Cancer Awareness Week recently with a Pillow Fight for Cancer, a Cut-a-Thon and a Denim Day. Rose Simmons, COO of the Northern California Cancer Society and a Notre Dame alumna, gave the keynote speech.
During the Pillow Fight event, students learned how to create special pillows for patients going through chemotherapy. At the Cut-a-Thon, local salons donated their services for the haircuts. At least 6 inches of hair was clipped from those with lush enough heads and donated to Locks of Love.
Locks of Love creates wigs for children who have lost their hair from disease or treatment. Another day, agencies such as Relay for Life, Latinas Contra Cancer and American Cancer Society reps explained the volunteer jobs open to students.
On Denim Day, staff and students donated $5 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and dressed in denim to show support for cancer research. A Remembrance Table was set up so students could contribute names in memory of those who had died of cancer.
OLD JOINS NEW IN CHINESE CLASSIC: Shadow theater, one of the oldest types of performances in the world, has been joined to today's technology to produce The Monkey King at Spider Cave, a Chinese classic tale to be presented Oct. 21 at 3 p.m. at San Jose's Center for the Performing Arts.
San Francisco's ShadowLight Productions teamed with Taiwan's Puppet and Its Double Theater to create a new kind of shadow play. Behind a giant 30-by-15-foot projection screen, actors, dancers, puppeteers and musicians adapted this classic using modern techniques.
Giant projected shadows create theater that unites the impact of film with the immediacy of live performance.
The musicians combine digital and traditional instruments for the soundtrack. The performance is in Mandarin and English, with bilingual subtitles. High drama, low comedy, melodrama, philosophy and action mark top-grade shadow plays. Monkey King's sponsor is Dimension Performing Arts at 408.257.6555.
MUSIC TO THEIR EARS: Preludes and Encores League presents its annual brunch and floral demonstration on Oct. 25, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Silicon Valley Capital Club in the Fairmont Building in San Jose. The $60 tab includes parking and $30 is tax deductible.
Proceeds from the brunch benefits the Children's Outreach Program of Symphony Silicon Valley. The outreach offers a symphony program to fourth- through sixth-grade children who would otherwise not be attending a concert.
Kren Rassmussen of Bloomster's will demonstrate the art of flower arranging. One of his creations will be the donation drawing prize. Reservations are required at 408.266.5482.
Local Preludes and Encores League members are Cathy Gillum, Doreen James, Marilyn Lattanzio, Ellen Orlady, Barbara Reed and Lois Hanson of Los Gatos; Florence Barker, Ann Louden and Ann Hexamer of Saratoga; and Kay Eshleman and Beryll Rodenbaugh of Monte Sereno.
HOLIDAY DECOR: Assistance League members and guests will gain holiday tips to enhance their homes at Gilmore's Flower and Home Accessories in Saratoga on Oct. 24, 6:30-9 p.m. The $30 tab includes dinner. Demos of fall/holiday arrangements will be one of the highlights.
Assistance League supports local children and seniors and is an all-volunteer organization. The contact is Shirley Johnson at 408.867.2181.
AT THE MOUNTAIN: Tony Bennett at the Mountain Winery last month drew an astonishingly wide variety of ages. He's acquired a new generation of admirers, but I didn't expect such an influx. When he sang the lyrics, "Nobody loves me," an audience member yelled out, "We love you, Tony."
Got a tip for Saratoga Sampler? Send email to mac@impruve.com.
