Archive for the ‘books’ Category
O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awarness Month Contest
Some of you may remember last year’s Dolce Italiano contest to spread the word about the wonderful cookbook by the 2008 Bon Appetit award-winner for best Pastry Chef Gina DePalma.
Well a few months ago, I found out from Diana, a lovely blogger and B & B owner in northern Italy, that Gina was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and was undergoing a whirlwind of treatment. I wrote Gina a quick email, sending my best thoughts and wishes, and Gina, recovering from surgery and about to undergo chemotherapy, immediately wrote back a message full of courageous spirit, humor, and love–vintage Gina.
You see, Gina was already thinking about what she could do to raise ovarian cancer awareness and money to fight the disease. So a few of us from the Dolce Italiano contest got together and we proudly announce:
O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen and Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy, Jenn of The Leftover Queen, and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are asking you to donate to the:
Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (via FirstGiving.org)
and then, out of the goodness of your hearts and to be eligible for the O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Contest, please do the following:
1. 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) and include this entire text box in the post;
OR
2. 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 about the event and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
AND
3. Then send your post url [along with a photo (100 x 100) if you’ve made a recipe] to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on September 30, 2008.
We will post a roundup and announce prize winners on October 3.
Prizes:
- 1 Recipe Prize for best “O food” concoction: $50 gift certificate to Amazon;
- 1 Awareness Prize for only publicizing event: Copy of Dolce Italiano cookbook.
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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 American Cancer Society estimates that 21,650 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the U.S. in 2008 and about 15,520 women will die from the disease.
- The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose. 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%.
Please donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund
and help spread the word!
P.S. Feel free to use the ribbon widget in my sidebar in *your* sidebar.
If you need help setting it up, please contact me!
Petite Anglaise by Katherine Sanderson
Simply loved this book by Katherine Sanderson; flew through it way too quickly.
Read on...Books, Books, and More Books
First I want to thank those of you who took the time to read some of my writing mentioned in Friday’s post; it reminds me again what a warm, fuzzy place the blogging world can be.
Now let’s keep the reading thing going and talk about one of my favorite things on this planet or any other: books. It’s been a while since I’ve done a meme, but when I saw this one on books at Chel’s Chasing Contentment, I felt some meme withdrawal and had to fill this one out.
Apparently books make me do strange things.
Speaking of which, remember you can always keep up with what I’m reading through the books link on the navigation bar above.
1. One book that changed your life: Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. This was the first book of any real length that I ever read, and I’ve been writing stories trying (in vain) to live up to E.B. White’s legacy ever since. I *so* wanted to be Fern and play with Wilbur, Charlotte, Templeton, and the g-g-goose. Love. This. Book.
2. One book you’ve read more than once twice: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. A few Jane Austens as well, but Catherine and Heathcliff are my all-time favorites. A more recently published favorite that I’ve read a few times is Chocolat by Joanne Harris.
3. One book you’d want on a desert island: William Shakespeare Complete Works. How could I ever get bored?
4. One book that made you laugh: OK trying to think of an answer here was far too difficult, so I definitely need to read more funny books. Feel free to leave suggestions. Oh! The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. Hilarious!
P.S. I wish I could answer Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs here since the book blurbs describe it as “screamingly funny!” and “funny as hell!” but I found it quite disturbing. I mean, it was good, but “funny” certainly isn’t a word I’d use to describe it. Anyone else have an opinion on this book?
5. One book that made you cry: Most recently, Resistance by Anita Shreve. This is the first Shreve book I’ve read, and wow. Grazie mille Qualcosa di Bello!
6. One book you wish you had written: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. I love how she weaves together the stories of characters from different generations around the core of love—two of my favorite themes.
7. One book you wish had never been written: Now that’s not very nice. I’m no player/writer hater.
8. One book you’re currently reading: The Italian translation of Paulo Coelho’s By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept. Judging from the Italian version, I’d say the English one would be pretty good too. Have I mentioned how much I loved The Alchemist (in Italian at least)?
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light–and I can prove it as it’s been on my Amazon Wish List since it came out! I was raised Catholic, so Mother Teresa has always had a special place in my heart. This book is said to give greater insight into her as a person, including her fears and doubts, rather than treat her as simply a persona. Has anyone read this? Opinions?
Looking forward to your answers fellow booklovers!
Guest Blogger: Author Cindy Lynn Speer
Time for another guest blogger, and this month I am honored to introduce you to the author of the fantasy novel Blue Moon, Cindy Lynn Speer, who has been fascinated by magic, fables, and fairy tales her whole life. I know a lot of you are avid readers and many are also avid dreamers, so I thought you’d also enjoy getting to know Cindy and her blog, A Pen and Fire.
I met Cindy through the Ultimate Blog Party in which her introduction post included the following request:
Reply with a link or an actual picture of a secret crush you have, male or female, and include a noun, a verb, and something you love.
With this information, Cindy would write a personalized short story including those elements. I commented leaving this link to my crush, the noun “camera,” the verb “squeak,” and chocolate as something I love.
The story Cindy came up with for me is *fabulous*–go to Comment 3 on this post to read it. Seriously. You’ll love it. Then come back here of course.
Now, in Cindy’s guest post, we get into the head of an author and see the creative process at work. Enjoy!
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When Michelle asked me to do a guest blog, my first thought was “Wow! What an honor!” My second was…”Oh, dear…what do I want to say?”
I’m a fantasy writer – more of the fantasy novels with a bit of romance and mystery than the questing mages and barbarians with swords type – and I look for magic in everything. I’m fascinated by this blog because there are two things in it that just speak of magic; food (I believe that there must be some sort of food magic) and a beautiful, unknown country.
Ruins, mosaics, sunsets on the water…what could be more magical? I look at the pictures that Michelle posts, and I try to imagine what it would feel like to be there.
What kind of warmth is there? Is it the type of dry heat that you get used to easily, or is it wet and humid? Does it smell different? Is the quality of light the same?
I try to imagine what it would be like for my characters to go to Italy.
I imagine Alex would be all about food…Alex is tall and slender and has a stomach like a black hole, though I never really mention that in the book.
I think Dashiel would be, too, food and a sunny spot to lie down in, but then he’s a dog, he likes to keep it simple.
Libby would be intent on exploring every inch of the place…from ruins to museums. At least at the end of the book Libby would be…at the beginning of the book Libby would probably lock herself in the hotel.
Zorovin, being a dragon, would probably be drawn to the ruins – until he realized that humans liked them, too, then he’s just try to find the highest, coolest place in the land.
Sierra would probably skip straight to Rome, to try to break/bribe her way into the Vatican and discover what magic secrets they were hiding.
As for me, I think that I will (note the optimism) be a cross between Alex and Libby. Eager to explore every new experience, smell the flowers, try the food, absorb the heat from a different sun.
I look forward to it.
I also want to thank Michelle for letting me visit…and thank you for reading this post! If you have a chance, please feel free to visit my blog: A Pen and Fire.
If you’d like to be featured as a guest blogger at Bleeding Espresso,
leave me a comment or contact me here.
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Mediterranean Eggplant Soup
This past weekend I had some eggplants/aubergines sitting here waiting to be used.
I thought about Pasta alla Norma, Calabrian stuffed eggplant, or eggplant balls, but decided that I really wanted some zuppa to warm me up–we had quite a chilly, windy weekend–so I went to the Interwebs to find something new.
I found this recipe for Mediterranean Eggplant Soup from Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons: Bountiful Vegan Soups and Stews for Every Time of Year by Nava Atlas.
It looked fabulous, so I gave it a try, making my own adjustments, including substituting the “Italian herb mix” with a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme (and of course peperoncino) and adding a vegetable bouillon cube at the last minute for a little kick.
I also sprinkled some grated cheese on at the end because, well, I do that with pretty much every soup I eat.
I didn’t, however, add the small soup pasta that is called for because I really wanted to keep it light *and* I wasn’t in the mood for pasta (I know, call the authorities!).
When I make this again, I’ll add even more vegetables and make it a more general Mediterranean vegetable soup–peas, green beans, zucchini, perhaps even some cannellini beans for texture. Another idea is to throw in some shrimp and maybe a dash of Old Bay seasoning.
As you can tell, I think this is a great base for tomato vegetable soup, and all the better if you have your own stock ready. And *so* easy. Be creative!
Mediterranean Eggplant Soup
(Zuppa di Melanzane)
[adapted from Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons: Bountiful Vegan Soups and Stews for Every Time of Year by Nava Atlas]
*serves 6-8
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 celery stalks, diced
5 cups water
1 vegetable bouillon cube or replace one cup of water with stock
2 medium eggplants, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
A few sprigs rosemary and thyme
Pinch of peperoncino
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Salt to taste
1. Heat oil in a soup pot. Add onion, garlic, and celery and sauté over medium heat for a few minutes until onion is translucent.
2. Add water, bouillon cube, eggplant, tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, and peperoncino. Bring to a simmer and let cook until eggplant is tender, about 45 minutes.
3. Add parsley, and adjust the consistency to your liking. Season to taste with salt.
4. Grate some of your favorite cheese on top if you like, and serve immediately.
Buon appetito!
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.
Calabria Guidebook
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