CHRISTMAS and BUTTER of the TIGER

"See with the eyes of angels....." -Allen Ginsberg

 Christmas. Time to get ready for friends and family. Time to make Butter of the Tiger (  Tiger Butter)....have not made it in a couple of years. Time to fix the old angel again. She is from the late 40's, early 50's. My mother's angel. This year I made her a pink glittery dress. .......

 TIGER BUTTER (1990) (It’s not Christmas without it!)

 (A blend of white chocolate, peanut butter and dark and milk chocolates. I got the idea from the Purdy’s tiger butter, but we think this is a lot tastier. It is a staple of any Christmas package. I made this first on Morgan’s first Christmas , in Petawawa, Ontario.)

 1 big bag of white chocolate wafers from bulk food bins

6-8 big tablespoon plops of peanut butter ( add more to taste)

1 big bag milk chocolate wafers

4 cups ( about) of dark chocolate wafers, melted, for drizzle.

 (Line Two cookie sheets with wax paper and set aside)

 Melt white chocolate in large metal bowl, over simmering pot of water.

 While melting it slowly,  fix angel. Make dress..............

 Her original dress is stained and her big felt feet point the wrong way.I took a leftover piece of sequin pink tulle and fashioned something simple. 

 When white chocolate is  melted, add as many plops of Peanut butter as you wish. Stir to melt. Taste. Add more peanut butter if you want.

 Melt milk chocolate wafers in microwave ( 2 minutes). Stir to finish melting.

 Plop large blobs of white chocolate/peanut butter mixture all over each cookie sheet .Plop large blobs of milk chocolate in between the white chocolate.

 Take a clean knife and gently push and swirl these chocolate blobs so that they form a pattern…do not mix together. It’s kind of fun…like finger-painting.

 Take spoonfuls of dark chocolate melted wafers and drizzle over each  pan.Let set, either in fridge or in cool place. When cool,  turn over each flat of tiger butter, peel off wax paper and drizzle dark chocolate over the other side.

 Then break into pieces. Will keep in sealed baggies in a cool place…not the fridge. I keep my bags of Tiger Butter in a box in the office. 

 **You can use almond butter if you want in place of peanut butter. Not quite the same. But pretty good.

 Save Tiger Butter to give away. Or munch on it as you tie angel to the top of  white tree. Make sure she does not lean or she will fall .  Special  Old Angel. Another Christmas. Another tree. I know, for a fact, that  she can fly......

 “When angels visit us, we do not hear the rustle of wings, nor feel the feathery touch of the breast of a dove; but we know their presence by the love they create in our hearts.”
― Mary Baker Eddy, Poems by Mary Baker Eddy

 PHOTOGRAPHS 2019

NICE DEER.....

                             "I've seen deer...." -Parker Posey

 Big deer. Very .  I was outside.  Talking to Spencer. Then Spencer disappeared. Poof.

 Face to face with the biggest buck. "Hello.....nice deer..." He huffed . Then he puffed. Googled his eyes. 

 Big horns. Big deer. Nice deer.  I backed away. 

 He snorted .  Held his ground. He wanted seeds. In the seed pan. His seeds. He must have thought he was a bird.

 Nice deer. I tried to open the back door. Locked.

 rattle. rattle.  Big Buck chomped away at his seeds. Nice deer.........

 And the sparrows. They shreiked.

 Spencer long since gone. Rain. Soggy. Boggy. Drizzle.

Clouds moved down. Sparrows squealed. Buck slobbered . Every so often he turned his googly eyes on me.

 "Hellllooooo. Can someone open the door....." rattle. rattle. "Big deer....Big. Big deer....NICE DEER ."

 Rain whooshed.  No one came to the door to let me in. Camera. Always a camera.  Lucky deer. Photo op.Click. Click. He posed. Tilted his  his antlers. Just right.

 "Nice deer" I said.  Shook his massive head. Passed by . Big horns. Slid me a last look. 

Drenched. I stood . Still. Nice deer.

 He snorted. He left. Down the stairs. Trot. Trot.

I'm still locked out. Shiver. 

 rattle. rattle. "Can someone let me in? Hellllooooo...."

  Such a Nice Deer...........

Photographs 2019

1939..............................

 1939 King George VI Christmas Cake

 1939 saw King George and Queen Elizabeth on a tour in Canada. It also saw the rise of a fruitcake recipe fancied by the King. Apparently, my grandmother made it, year after year.   I lost one fruitcake recipe (Shirley's from another blog), but I also misplaced THIS one. I found it recently in  my grandmother's old letter book to my mother, from the 40's. Dark . Rich. Wonderful.......

 "Had a cable from him today at Aldershot. He is in some jam. I sent him $30. His money is in Victory Bonds. Sent him a lovely box of all sorts  $5.75 worth, and socks and underwear. I also had to mail Aunty Barbara  a parcel. But the laugh was on me as I switched address labels. Aunty Barbara got the candy and underwear, and Stuart got the  King's fruitcake I made for Barbara, plus a pound of butter and sugar....."--Isobel Shiels letters, 1940

 RECIPE: Fill LARGE pyrex bowl with the following:

Dates, dark raisins, golden raisins, glace cherries, citrus peel, pecans, walnuts, almonds, cranberries, candied ginger, whatever quantity you wish of each. Pour a bottle of wine over top, or half bottle of whatever is economical. Let soak for a day or two.

Isabella and Robert Shiels 1940

 In the late 30's and 40's my mother kept a journal of expenses. She used to tell me her mother and father were appalled at how expensive city living could be. They were on the farm. My mother was  married,living in Victoria at the time. She vowed never to return to the farm. But she did.,,,during the war years.

sample

 January 5 1939 she spent $32 on all things household. Rent $15, Light $3.99, Shoes $1.00, Dress pattern 30 cents, Groceries $5.00, Smokes $2.00. Jan 20 they went to Vancouver , not for a holiday, but because my father had a hospital appt. It cost $2.00 to stay at a nice hotel.( She also paid the Bay $10.00 for  furniture)

 BEAT TOGETHER: 1 ½ cups butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 ½ cups molasses

 ADD:1 cup strong coffee, Zest and juice of 3 oranges, 

 ADD: 2 tsp allspice, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cloves, 2 tsp nutmeg 

 ADD:( very important) 3 tbsp COCOA ( to make it dark)

 By Sept 1 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. My mother used to tell me that life continued pretty normal, for the most part. She went to work at the Dockyards. Stuart was off to war in 1940. Their parents  were worried about how to keep the farm going, and needed him to stay and work. My grandmother scrimped and saved to make fruitcakes for Christmas for friends around them.

 My mother said that the surprise of a fruitcake and sugar and butter at Aldershot,  was  like gold. He shared it all round.  I always wondered what his Aunty Barbara thought of the candy and underwear SHE got.

 ADD: 6 eggs, beaten in one at a time.

 Aug 19, 1942 Dieppe. Stuart was shot up pretty bad. He never recovered well from the wounds. He wrote a letter of bravado to his mother and sister. He survived but he did not go home then.

 ADD: 4cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda.

 ADD ALL the FRUIT in BOW, PLUS the wine. Add extra flour if batter is too thin.

 DIVIDE between 10 mini pans and 1 loaf tin, lined with, or whatever pans you like, as long as they are greased and lined with parchment paper.

Isobel, Isabelle Shiels, Nessie ( mum)

 On the farm, life continued on. My grandmother continued to make 1939 King George  fruitcakes.It was her only recipe. I was told she still sent one to Stuart every year . He was a favourite of hers. She wrote to him about the life on the farm. She sent him money. 

 "Tomorrow I am making tomato pickles, crab apples and cucumbers. Dad made us a dinky little chicken house with wood he scavenged. Neighbours are moving to  Trail to see about getting a job.Hens are laying pretty good, but some people aren't getting any eggs at all..."-Isobel Shiels letters 1942

 I met Stuart, once, when he came to Victoria. He was not well, trying to get a new start. He stayed for a while. Talked quietly with my mother. I'm not sure what about. He left  for parts unknown. He came in late fall, November. She had been making fruitcakes. She loaded him up with treats before he left.  I like to imagine she gave him one of the 1939 Christmas cakes that she and my grandmother used to make...... 

 BAKE: 300 degrees about 1 /2 hours. Check often to see if they are baked.

 LET COOL. WRAP in plastic bags. Freeze. Give away.....

                                     George, Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth, Margaret Rose

Photographs 2019