TIDBITS...

tidbit

Main Entry:

tid·bit

Pronunciation:

\ˈtid-ˌbit\

Variant(s):

also tit·bit \ˈtit-ˌbit\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

perhaps from tit- (as in titmouse) + bit

Date:

circa 1640

1 : a choice morsel of food
2 : a choice or pleasing bit (as of information)

{Please note that as you read this post, no, your eyes are not playing tricks on you and yes the text goes from light brown, to dark brown, to black ~ Blogger has gone color blind on me! I have tried to fix this to no avail so what you see is what you get!}

Today I have a few tidbits, choice morsels of information and food (recipes and photos at the end of the post!)to share with you.

The first delectable bite I offer you is the opportunity to taste and see that the Lord is good. If you are interested in reading about the women of the Bible, sharing your thoughts and what you have learned, connecting with other women, those of the past and present, then perhaps you should check out what Rachel Olsen has to offer at My Life in Chapter and Verse . Scroll down to her post entitled, Want to Read the Bible Together for in depth details.
Rachel is, "a happily married mother of two ... author, editor, university teacher and national women's speaker. My Life in Chapter and Verse reflects my passion for words and especially for God's words."

Who is offering to host a online Bible Study, " by providing a plan, a forum, some direction and some accountability. I think it could be a fun experience! I'm all about drawing women closer to the heart of God and to one another."

Her plan is, " We'll be going through women of the Bible in chronological order beginning with Eve. We'll cover 3 a week for about 6 weeks. And I'm thinking we'll start sometime around the second week in March." If you are interested, just post an, "I'm in" comment on her post about this subject.

The next tidbit is for those of you who are feeling crafty. Popsicles & Lollipops is hosting a Sweet Little Birds Swap. Here are a few of the details, "You will be assigned 3 different partners for this swap. To each partner, you will be sending one handmade bird ornament directly. Your ornaments should be (approximately) 3" to 6" in size. You can use any medium that you choose to readily use/embellish to create a handmade sweet little bird (cardboard, fabric, papier-mache, wood, styrofoam, clay, wire etc.)." The deadline to sign up is March 17, partners will be assigned on March 20th, and the deadline to mail your swap items is April 9th. To sign up just click on the link above and leave a comment and your contact information.

This next tidbit is very sweet indeed. A huge hug and a thank you goes out to Vee of A Haven for Vee and to Jessi of Scrappy Jessi for the sweetness they provided by giving me a little lift just when I needed it!

Vee blew me this kiss in the form of a Mwah! award:
Jessi sent me this darling little sparkle gal who did make my day shine!:
I am breaking all the bloggie rules and if you are reading this post then you get a big fat Mwah! blown your way and this twinkling cutie to make your day sparkle and shine! Snag and tag if you wish!

The last morsel I have to share is last nights dinner! Yes, I am reduced to posting about the dining habits at the Quill! Seriously, last nights dinner was such a treat for me. Darling daughter was off work yesterday and she planned, shopped for, and prepared the meal!!!! That meant I got the night off! I did , however, let her off the hook and cleaned the kitchen for her afterward, so it was just a partial night off but I enjoyed it immensely.

She chose a mix of oriental flair for our dining pleasure. The menu consisted of :
(Recipes at end of post)

~Hot and Sour Soup topped with crunchy baked rice noodles
~Lemon and Sesame Seed Chicken served over a stir fry mixture of white rice noodles, red pepper, fresh ginger, shiitake mushrooms, and bamboo shoots
~White Rice Balls
~Steamed mixed vegetables which consisted of broccoli, cauliflower, yellow squash, zucchini,
yellow baby corn, carrots, and water chestnuts

~Hot Green Tea

She even included a bit of mood music!

It was all seriously delicious! While she prepared the meal I set the table using my Blue Angel by Present dishes. These dishes belonged to my mother and father and were their very first set of dishes. When I was a little girl these dishes resided in a box in our attic along with a couple of old fancy silver percolator coffee pots. My little step sister and I would use them for our play dishes. We would climb up into the hot dusty attic crawl space via the wooden slats nailed to the utility room wall and enter our magic kingdom of make believe.

This was an odd choice for a play space but we loved it none the less. You see, our attic was not one of those cool attics that look like a room and are filled with neat stuff, ours was an unfinished crawl space with exposed rafters and no flooring over the long rows of pink insulation tucked between ceiling joists. In the middle was the workings of the huge attic fan with its constant twirling blades encased in a mesh cage. There was no light save that which came in from the slatted air vents on each end of the house. Each triangle shaped vent had screening stapled over it to keep the birds out but every spring they managed to push the screening in a bit and make cozy nests sheltered behind the slats.

For lighting we ran an extension cord up through the entrance and hooked up an old lamp. There were two old hollow core doors up there and those served as the floor to our "houses". I always "lived" on the farthest end beyond the attic fan because my little step sister was afraid to go past it. She never visited my "house" so I always came calling to hers. We traveled around the attic like tightrope walkers on the wooden ceiling joists poking in boxes to find things to cozy up our homes.

My mother was very indulgent in our imaginary play and she let us bring snacks up but we were warned that if we left food up there and there was ever any sign of a mouse then it would be off limits. Why we chose this hot, dusty, and dark space to play is beyond me but we loved it. We had to draw straws over some of the dishes when we divided them for play, like who got the wonderful divided dish with tiny china spoons and who got the have the oil and vinegar bottles, our two favorites to fight over.

One time is a fit of meanness I snatched what I wanted and scurried over to my side because I knew that she would never pass the attic fan to come and retrieve anything but in my scurry I forgot my favorite doll, Baby Bearskin. She threatened to drop him, (I always thought this doll looked like a boy doll), through the attic opening. She held him pinched between two fingers by his little white t-shirt, swinging him back and forth like a clock pendulum over the opening with a wicked little grin on her face. I surrendered the coveted dishes and she surrendered the doll after my mothers head popped up through the opening and threatened us both with punishment as she heard every heated word that was exchanged through that big old attic fan.

Last night we dined on these same dishes and I recounted all the fond memories of playing with them as a child. Several years ago my mother gave them to me and for some odd reason we only eat off of them when we have oriental food. I added a few modern pieces to this set to make our dining feel more authentic such as the soup bowls and spoons, tea cups and tea bag holders, chopstick rests, and a tea pot. Other than that the set remains the same and the tidbits of memories linger as sweet as ever.

Hot & Sour Soup ~ Make according to package directions ~ delicious!
Soup Topping ~

JAPANESE MUSHROOM STIR-FRY

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 white musrooms / shiitake mushrooms
• 1 small can of bamboo shoots, drained
  
• 1 small chunk of fresh ginger
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 red bell pepper
• salt and pepper to season
• vegetable oil for frying (2 TBSP)
  
• cooked white rice noodles (prepared according to package instructions)
  

Slice mushrooms. Chop ginger and red pepper finely. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and add ginger and red pepper. Add bamboo and mushroom slices in the pan and stir-fry them. Salt & Pepper to taste. Add prepared white rice noodles. Pour soy sauce over the ingredients and stir quickly.

*Makes 4 servings

LEMON & SESAME SEED CHICKEN

2 tbsp. soy sauce 2 tbsp. honey 1 tbsp. lemon juice 2 cloves garlic, crushed Chicken, boneless, skinless, cut into bite size pieces Sesame Seeds 4 tbsp. butter Combine soy sauce, honey, lemon juice, 1 tsp. sesame seeds, and garlic in a large bowl. Place chicken in sauce and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate 3 hours. Heat butter in skillet, remove chicken pieces from marinade and place in skillet, cook until chicken bites are done all the way through, stirring constantly. Serve over rice or Japanese Mushroom Stir-fry, sprinkle sesame seeds over plated dish of additional garnish. IS THIS YUMMMY!

WHITE RICE BALLS

White Rice, instant or whole grain
Ice Cream Scoop

Prepare rice according to package instructions. Allow to cool slightly. Scoop and pack rice into ice cream scoop, release rice onto plate.

Hoping you taste a tidbit of bliss this day,
Miss Sandy