We are proud to offer this cookbook in hopes of bringing a greater amount of tofu into your diets and into your lives. We would like to thank you for purchasing this cookbook and hope it will help you develop a greater understanding of how to use this very special food.

 

 

This cookbook is dedicated to my brother Alan Stein who died July 24th, 2000 from a fungal infection he got from complications with Leukemia. He was not alone when he died and was actually in my arms. Alan had many of his friends around him also.

Alan spent 61 days at UCSF Long Hospital in San Francisco waiting for his white blood cells to come back after treatment for AML Leukemia. They never did. He recovered from several infections he acquired during his stay at the hospital and we thought he was on his way to recovery. He was up eating a Popsicle one morning when I got to the hospital and smiling. He had finally started eating solid food and his white cells went up slightly. I was very encouraged by this good news.

Three days later he died from Aspergilious Fungal infection in his brain. I miss my brother so very much because in the two months I spent in the hospital with him, taking care of him, my heart was able to merge with his heart. We became the brothers we should have been our entire lives.

I wanted to do something special to keep him alive in the hearts of all those who were fortunate enough to know my brother and to those who never did. But first let me tell you a little about what he has done and how he affected those he touched with his heart and soul.

Alan was a gymnast through and through. He competed in High school and was the top gymnast in the county. He went on to get a degree in Psychology from Long Beach State. He started teaching women's gymnastics during college and continued with this the remainder of his life. He worked as head coach at many of the top training schools in the country and finally started his own business and club in the East Bay of San Francisco. His gym, when he passed away, had over 800 students mostly young girls as members.

I have since become acquainted with many of the families and students of Alan's gym and have come to understand many things I never knew about my brother. Alan has touched so many hearts and lives of these very young adults and made enormous differences in their lives.

Some of these young girls were going in the wrong direction, that is, becoming troubled young girls and difficult for the parents to control. Enrolled in my Brother's gym they changed, becoming great kids and excellent competitors.

My brother was one of those too good to believe type of people. Never lied, never cheated anyone, never swore and always gave everything to the students who surrounded him. These children loved my brother so very deeply because he cared about them and their lives. They knew and understood how open my brother's heart was. They wanted to become good gymnasts and good citizens because of my brother's influence. He always made them maintain excellent grades in school or he would not let them compete. He tutored them when they needed it and provided the discipline when this was needed. Alan provided a means for these young little girls to grow up and become young women and in the best standing in their community.

One of my brother's dreams was to provide scholarships for those students wanting to go on to college and who maintained their grades well enough to enter college. This dream of Alan's was never seen by him and I want to be able to give it to my brother now.

I have established a charitable foundation in my brothers name for the purpose of offering scholarships to these young girls to help their financial needs while in college that come from his club. The rules and guidelines for obtaining these scholarships have not yet been created, but soon will be. The name of this fund is The Alan Stein Memorial Fund. All donations are tax deductible. The principle can not be touched and only the profits from the invested funds can be used for the purpose of scholarships. Scholarships will be awarded on a yearly basis.

Some of the Scholarships will allow a few children from needy families that would otherwise not be able to send their children to clubs like my brothers the ability to learn at his gym. All profits from the sale of this cookbook will be donated to the Alan Stein Memorial Fund. If you are interested in making a tax-deductible contribution no matter how small please send it to address below. A list of donators will be posted in the gym. For the corporations wanting to send a donation but need a tax identification number please write the East Bay Community Foundation to obtain this number.

Thank you for helping my brother obtain his dream and supporting these efforts. We would like to thank all those who donated and contributed to this cookbook. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Gary C. Stein Please make checks payable to:

Alan Stein Memorial Fund / EBCF
East Bay Community Foundation
501 Wickson Avenue
Oakland, California 94610