Archive for September, 2009
Love Thursday: Love in the Grilled Pollo
I love grilled food. Any kind of meat, vegetables, even fruit…grilled pineapple anyone?
P and I don’t have a *real* grill quite yet, but our little contraption works just fine, and we’ve been using the heck out of it this summer. P, of course, is the Grill Master, while I prep anything not made over the coals like salad and bread and take care of tasks such as setting the table, keeping the wine glasses filled, etc.
I love the flow of activity on grill nights as we each perform our assigned tasks separately but in perfect concert, each contributing to the finished product little by little until we finally sit down to enjoy the feast.
There’s always such a handsome reward after all that prep, and it’s made all the better when P brings the plate of ali di pollo (chicken wings) to the table and announces:
“Guarda il cuore!”
Look at the heart!
I also love when P implores me to get the camera for a Love Thursday post.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
P.S. No, this isn’t my official O Food Contest contribution, although it could be since pollo ends in O! What are you making? Remember you have until 28 September to get those recipes in!
And this just in:
Check out the Third Annual Live Webcast on Ovarian Cancer tomorrow, 18 September at 12:30 pm EST. The webcast will be held at the Omni Parker House Hotel (60 School Street) in Boston in the Press Room. Coalition members, survivors and doctors will be answering your questions.
To view the live webcast, visit OvarianCancerAwareness.org and click under the event “Live Webcast” where it states, “click here to watch.” You will then be asked to log in with your name. The live feed will begin at 12:00 pm and the broadcast will start at 12:30 pm.
2nd Annual O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
It’s finally time for the 2nd Annual O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month here and at Sara’s Ms Adventures in Italy!
We were so pleased with the response to last year’s contest, which raised $425 for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund and rounded up 45 outstanding (ottimo!) “O Food” recipes.
And we need your help to top that this year!
We started the O Foods tradition in honor of our friend, award-winning pastry chef Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen; Gina has been fighting ovarian cancer for the past year and a half, and in addition to physically battling the disease, she has also started the Cowgirl Cure Foundation to raise awareness and money for research as well.
As a special treat, this year Gina will also be picking the grand prize winner of the O Foods Contest! And speaking of prizes, check them out–signed copies of Gina’s book, Mario Batali’s Molto Italiano, and Joseph Bastianich’s Vino Italiano.
Molto cool, no?
Speaking of the contest, just like last year, you can participate either by submitting a recipe or by simply posting the announcement below. Our goal is to spread information about ovarian cancer and its symptoms to as many people as possible, so feel free to tweet, post on Facebook, or whatever you have to do to help us make enough noise to stop this silent killer.
CONTEST RULES
O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and for the second year in a row, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are hosting the O Foods Contest to raise awareness of this important health issue.
There are TWO WAYS to take part in the O Foods Contest:
ONE: Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato); include this entire text box in the post; and send your post url along with a photo (100 x 100) to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.
PRIZES for recipe posts:
- 1st: Signed copy of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen by Gina DePalma, Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who is currently battling ovarian cancer, inspired this event, and will be choosing her favorite recipe for this prize;
- 2nd: Signed copy of Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home by Mario Batali (winner chosen by Sara);
- 3rd: Signed copy of Vino Italiano: The Regional Italian Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich (winner chosen by Michelle).
ORTWO: If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word and send your post url to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.
Awareness posts PRIZE:
- One winner chosen at random will receive a Teal Toes tote bag filled with ovarian cancer awareness goodies that you can spread around amongst your friends and family.
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From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:
- Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
- The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose, but include bloating, pelvic and/or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly; and urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency).
- There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
- In spite of this, patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
- When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.
And remember, you can also always donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund at our page through FirstGiving!
Please help spread the word about ovarian cancer.
Together we can make enough noise to kill this silent killer.
Teal Toes Winners and More Ovarian Cancer Awareness Info
Congrats to the winners of OPI Teal the Cows Come Home polish:
(1) Lisa of La Famiglia
(2) City Girl of City Girl Lifestyle
(3) Chrissy
(4) Aimee of Aimee’s Blog
(5) Jen of a2eatwrite
And thanks to Carey of Teal Toes for donating prizes!
And in other ovarian cancer awareness news, check out the gorgeous creations of Diana who blogs at Creative Structures, like this one:
which Diana made and donated to the auction of the Cowgirl Cure Foundation, a new organization “takin’ a stand against ovarian cancer.”
And have you heard of the Text-a-Thon for a Cause?
Electrolux and Kelly Ripa are again teaming up to raise ovarian cancer awareness. All you have to do is text “KELLY” to 85944 and $5 will go to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (normal texting rates may apply, and remember this is US -based).
Also if you register at Kelly’s website, every day you log on in September gives you another chance to win a front load washer and dryer in Turquoise Sky, the color inspired by teal, the symbolic color of ovarian cancer awareness.
Now, remember we’re just getting started with our ovarian cancer awareness campaign here. Come back Monday for the official announcement of this year’s O Foods Contest, which you’ll also find at Sara’s Ms Adventures in Italy and which will include even more fabulous prizes than last year.
Then stay tuned for:
- An exclusive interview with Gina DePalma, Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen, who is currently battling ovarian cancer;
- More information about the Cowgirl Cure Foundation (you *know* you’re curious!);
- Gorgeous Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month jewelry from Angela Moore;
- Much much more!
Buon weekend a tutti–and start thinking about your O Foods recipes!
Teal Toes Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and dedicated readers are probably guessing that another O Foods Contest with Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy might be coming up. Well, you’re right, but that won’t kick off until next week.
Stay tuned, and if you want to donate money to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund in the meantime, please go to our donation page at First Giving, which you may also remember from last year.
You can also indirectly donate through Seventh Generation: Let’s Talk Period simply by signing up for free registration on their site; Seventh Generation will donate $1 for each new registration, up to $22,000 (each year 22,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer).
Why make a big deal of ovarian cancer awareness?
Well, because ovarian cancer is often known as a silent killer because many women don’t discover they have ovarian cancer until it spreads somewhere else; their survival rate is 45%. But the survival rate jumps to 93% when the cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, which only happens 19% of the time.
This is why it’s so important for women to know the dangers of ovarian cancer as well as the symptoms and signs, which often mirror those of irritable bowel syndrome, because ovarian cancer is not actually silent, it just whispers softly. *You must listen!*
We’ll talk more about this as the month goes on as well, but for now, please also be aware that recent studies have closely linked breast cancer and ovarian cancer through the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. Check out Sloan-Kettering’s great FAQ on these genes.
Paint Your Toenails Teal!
So, this week in conjunction with a pre-O Foods Contest contest, I’d like to re-introduce you to Teal Toes, 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 lots of great resources and information over at her place, including a link to the wonderful FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer), so do take a look around–especially at the page of teal polishes to get you started on your toes.
And finally, the contest. Carey has generously offered 5 bottles of OPI Teal the Cows Come Home nail polish for five lucky Bleeding Espresso readers; winners to be drawn at random.
Teal Toes Contest Rules:
1. To enter, leave a comment on this post between now and midnight on Friday, September 11, 2009 (Italy time).
2. For an extra entry, become a fan of Teal Toes on Facebook and send me a message at michellefabio5(at)gmail(dot)com to let me know you’ve done so.
That’s it!
I’ll choose the winners at random on Saturday morning and announce them here.
And by the by, if you’re feeling extra frisky, why not go out and get some teal polish, paint your toes, post it on your blog, and send me a link (or just send a photo if you don’t have a blog). Wouldn’t you love to see your toesies featured here and at the Teal Toes Facebook page?
Show us your Teal Toes, ladies! And gentleman! *Everyone* looks good in teal. Including blogs. Feel free to lift the ovarian cancer awareness ribbon above or over in my sidebar (smaller) for your site this month (please upload to your own server though).
Remember, just comment to enter the contest, and do spread the word!
Let’s make enough noise together to kill this silent killer.
Love Thursday: The Piaggio Love Ape 50
For the uninitiated, the “Ape 50” is a three-wheeled truck made by Piaggio that you can find on just about any rural road in Italy at any time of day.
Pronounced “AH-peh,” rumor has it that it’s named as such because the sound it makes very much resembles the buzz of a bee as it winds around twists and turns carrying hay, olives, lemons, or whatever its driver needs to get from Punto A to Punto B.
“Ape,” you see, means “bee” in Italian. Incidentally, the famous Vespa scooter? “Vespa” means “wasp.” Clever, eh?
So by now you may be wondering where exactly the “Love” comes in.
Right here baby:
Meet our newest toy, The Looooove Ape 50, which just so happens to have a heart spray-painted on the front.
I didn’t choose this treasure, so obviously I’m not the only one in the house who enjoys finding hearts out and about and bringing them home.
I know it’s bit gaudy and a lot ghetto, but I’m thinking I might like to keep it on there.
What do you think (besides that you’re *so* jealous, admit it!)?
Happy Love Thursday!
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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