Archive for September, 2010
A Surprise Crop of Pomegranates
On the border of our garden (which wasn’t a garden this year because we were too busy with the new campagna to plant anything), is a line of pomegranate trees. The land is terraced, so they’re not very easy to see down there on the slope, and to be honest, since they produced a grand total of two pomegranates last year, I wasn’t really paying attention to them.
Well P and I caught a glimpse of them early this morning, and they were absolutely *full* of melagrane!
Melagrane dal giardino
I love pomegranates, or as we called them back in the Pennsylvania Coal Region, “Indian apples.” I actually didn’t know the fruits were one in the same until I learned about mythology and the story of Persephone in Hades. See, public school education works!
I’ve written about pomegranates before as the harbingers of the fall here in southern Italy — and indeed, the past few days have had a distinct autumnal chill in the air overnight . . . which means my loverly October is just around the corner. Yay!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a bowl of seeds to chomp on to keep my antioxidants up.
Pomegranate seeds...yum!
How do you enjoy pomegranates?
Angela Moore Earrings + Teal Toes Polish Giveaway for Ovarian Cancer Awareness
As we reach the end of September and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, please remember that awareness needs to happen *year round* if we hope to conquer this so-called silent killer. If you have a blog please consider posting the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer before month’s end so your readers have this important information.
And now, the final giveaway of the month offered up by Carey Fitzmaurice of Teal Toes. You may remember reading about Teal Toes here before at Bleeding Espresso, but if not, Teal Toes is an organization dedicated to raising ovarian cancer awareness run by Carey Fitzmaurice, an ovarian cancer survivor.
Carey came up with the idea to encourage people to paint their toenails teal in September, especially because:
- Ribbons aren’t enough.
- It’s easy!
- It makes your toes look pretty.
- Teal, the ovarian cancer awareness color, is striking enough to make people ask about it.
Carey has kindly offered up a pair of Angela Moore earrings (surely you remember Angela Moore Jewelry from our first giveaway this month) and a bottle of Diamond “Don’t Teal My Heart Away” polish with the Teal Toes logo on it.
Angela Moore OCRF earrings
CONTEST RULES:
To enter for your chance to win the earrings or nail polish, leave a comment below telling me what you have done or will do to spread the word about ovarian cancer this month and/or help the cause. Even retweeting or reposting about the contests and information here count!
For an extra entry, you can “like” Teal Toes on Facebook and/or and follow @TealToes on Twitter, and then come back here and tell me you’ve done so in a separate comment. You may both “like” and follow for a total of three possible entries, but the initial comment regarding spreading ovarian cancer awareness is the mandatory entry.
All entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. CET Sunday, October 3, 2010; this drawing is open only to U.S addresses for shipping purposes. The winner will be chosen randomly.
Best of luck, and get those toes painted teal! Why yes, mine have been teal all summer long.
And remember you can always donate to the OCRF via my FirstGiving page!
Zucchini Flower Fritters – Frittelle di Fiori di Zucca
Zucchini flowers
Longtime readers might remember my zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta, spinach, and prosciutto crudo as well as fried zucchini flowers.
Well this time when I picked up some zucchini flowers at the market, P asked if I would make some fritters, which is the usual way they’re made in this area of Calabria.
P’s aunt has made them for us many times, but I had never asked for the recipe or technique. As luck would have it, the day I bought the flowers, she happened to be walking by the house when I took the dogs out for their lunchtime walk.
The recipe she gave me on the spot is below; of course there are no measurements, but I have faith in you!
Seriously if you’re afraid of working with zucchini flowers, it’s time to conquer the fear. I was right there with you, but these fritters are amazingly simple and delicious. Enjoy!
Zucchini Flower Fritters – Frittelle di Fiori di Zucca
Frittelle di fiori di zucca
- Bunch of zucchini flowers
- Flour
- Water
- Pinch of baking soda
- A few pinches of salt
- Oil for frying
1. Clean the zucchini flowers by snapping out the stamens (assuming you have male flowers, the ones attached to stems).
2. Chop roughly into pieces and place in boiling water for about a minute.
3. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Fiori di zucca
4. Mix together flour, water, some salt, and a pinch of baking soda so that you get the consistency of pancake batter. Fold in the flowers. This part, by the way, is completely up to your tastes. When P’s aunt makes them, to be honest, I don’t taste much of the flowers because there’s so much, well, flour. I like mine bursting with zucchini flower flavor — they also look prettier, I think, as the flower colors show through. So use your own taste to determine how much batter to flowers you should make.
5. Heat oil for frying (I use last year’s olive oil) in a shallow pot or pan. You’ll want enough in there so the batter can sink to the bottom and then have a little way to rise and dance at the top, and you also don’t want your fritters crowded. The pan I used fit three fritters at a time. Zia also told me to throw in a pinch of salt when ready to fry.
6. When the oil is hot, take a large spoonful of batter and drop it in. As mentioned above, it will sink at first but then rise as it fries. Turn them a bit until you see all sides are browned, remove with a slotted spoon, and place on paper towels to drain.
Zucchini flower fritters
Buon appetito!
Colleen Berg Thumbprint Jewelry Giveaway + O Foods Announcement
Heart thumbprint #2
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month continues, and we have another jewelry giveaway to help get the word out about the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. Please also see below for information on O Foods (especially if you have no idea what I’m talking about).
Colleen Berg has long been a supporter of ovarian cancer awareness, and now she is so very generously offering a $100 gift certificate toward her thumbprint, signature, or artwork jewelry lines.
The thumbprint line is especially wonderful because Colleen started it after her brother passed away from cancer. The pieces are simply adorable, described on the site as follows: “Your loved ones’ prints in silver or gold. These prints are your children, your spouse, your parents and grandparents. Every one you love, even the cats and dogs in your life!”
Yes, each and every piece is unique and personalized. Don’t you just love that heart?!
HOW TO ENTER:
To enter for your chance to win visit Colleen Berg Jewelry then come back here and leave a comment with your favorite piece of jewelry.
For an extra entry, you can “like” Colleen Berg Jewelry on Facebook, then come back here and tell me you’ve done so in a separate comment. Note that the comment regarding your favorite piece of jewelry is the main entry and mandatory before you can gain an extra entry.
All entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. CET Sunday, September 26, 2010; this drawing is open only to those with U.S. shipping addresses. The winner will be chosen randomly.
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Some of you may be wondering whether O Foods will happen this year; for those who don’t know, you can click O Foods to get more detailed info, but basically for the past two years, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy and I have invited bloggers to come up with recipes that include foods that either begin or end with O to help raise ovarian cancer awareness — and so many of you have graciously sent in fabulous dishes (so fabulous that you may hear from me about putting them in a cookbook for an ovarian cancer charity…would you be interested in this, by the way, either putting in a recipe, buying a book, or both?).
This year, although there’s no contest and no particular rules to follow, by all means, please do consider posting an O Foods recipe on your blog to raise ovarian cancer awareness and sending the link to michelle(at)bleedingespresso(dot)com; I promise I’ll make sure Bleeding Espresso readers know about your recipe whether it’s by a roundup here on the blog, posts on Facebook and Twitter, or all of the above.
Check out previous roundups for inspiration:
I would love if you could include a list of the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer with a link to that original post, and also please feel free to lift the ovarian cancer awareness ribbon; I look forward to your O foods!
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Best of luck in the jewelry giveaway, and please feel free to share this contest on Facebook, Twitter, etc., and help spread the word about the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer; remember you can also donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund through my FirstGiving page any time of year.
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Have a great week!
Designing Diva Jewelry Giveaway for Ovarian Cancer Awareness
Donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund
Continuing our ovarian cancer awareness campaign, this week’s giveaway is courtesy of fused glass jewelry designer Randi Deckard a.k.a. Designing Diva. Randi has some truly gorgeous creations, and we’ll get to the details in a moment.
First, I want to remind you of the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer:
- Vague but persistent and unexplained gastrointestinal complaints;
- Pelvic and/or abdominal swelling and pain; bloating and/or feeling of fullness;
- Unexplained change in bowel habits;
- Frequency and/or urgency of urination;
- Unexplained weight gain or loss;
- New and unexplained abnormal postmenopausal vaginal bleeding.
If these symptoms are sudden and persist for more than 2 or 3 weeks, consult your gynecologist. A full pelvic exam, including the rectovaginal component, is the best screening method for ovarian cancer, and another test is a transvaginal ultrasound. Be sure to tell your doctor about your symptoms so she knows exactly what she should be looking for.
Pure Love ACP
Now on to the contest. Randi Deckard a.k.a. Designing Diva has agree to donate earrings or a pendant, depending on the choice of the winner, who may CHOOSE an item currently in stock with a retail value up to $75. Randi will ship worldwide by 1st class mail from the USA, so if you win and you’re international, do understand that it may take 2-3 weeks for anything outside of the United States.
HOW TO ENTER:
To enter for your chance to win visit the Designing Diva jewelry catalog then come back here and leave a comment with the earrings or pendant you’d choose if you’re randomly chosen as the winner.
For an extra entry, you can “like” Designing Diva on Facebook and/or and sign up for the Designing Diva newsletter via the Diva Buzz blog, and then come back here and tell me you’ve done so in a separate comment. You may both “like” and sign up for the newsletter for a total of three possible entries, but the comment regarding your favorite piece of jewelry is the main entry and mandatory before you can gain extra entries.
All entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. CET Sunday, September 19, 2010; this drawing is open internationally. The winner will be chosen randomly.
COUPON CODE FOR EVERYONE:
Additionally, whether you enter the contest or not, Randi is also offering a discount to ALL Bleeding Espresso readers: The coupon code OCtake10 will take $10 off any purchase over $25. The coupon code must be for in stock items and does not apply to custom orders.
Go to Designing Diva!
Best of luck, and please feel free to share this contest on Facebook, Twitter, etc., and help spread the word about the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer; remember you can also donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund through my FirstGiving page!
Michelle Fabio is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer living in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy and savoring simplicity one sip at a time.
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