Don’t you just love it when people come up with the excuse to mix good food with a good cause? I know I do. And once again, Michelle of Bleeding Espresso and Sara of Ms. Adventures in Italy have joined forces for the O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness.

And I’d like to do my part.

Or well … my husband would.

Last week I told him I was running out of time to create an O Foods recipe to help Michelle and Sara spread the word about ovarian cancer. And what did he do?

He made us risottO!

So, my friends, here is my husband’s almost-famous porcini risotto, brought to you in honor of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

Ingredients:

(Serves two)

>> 1 cup of arborio rice
>> 2 mushroom-flavored bouillon cubes
>> 7 ounces of frozen porcini mushrooms
>> 3 1/2 tablespoons of butter
>> Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
>> Fresh parsley
>> Olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat four cups of water in a medium-size pot and add the bouillon cubes. Check on salt level and adjust as needed.

2. In a pan, heat olive oil and add porcini mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the rice and stir well.

4. As water from the pan evaporates, slowly add the mushroom-flavored water, one ladle at a time.

5. Stir the rice to ensure it doesn’t stick.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until the rice is fully cooked. (About 45 minutes)

7. When rice is firm, stir in the butter.

8. Top with parsley and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Buon Appetito!

I know, I know … it is getting late. But you can still join in the contest. Just read the rules below … then get in the kitchen! There is not much time!

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).

OR

TWO: 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.

———

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.