It is the most wonderful time of the year! I love the end of the year and wish that we could live this way a little more throughout the year – but people have schedules to keep, errands to run, places to be, people to see, so sporadically dropping in on people for a delicious nibbles platter and a glass or two of something alcoholic {which may or may not lead to dinner and children being placed into pj’s prior to packing up and calling it a night}.

I said to one of my friends last night that I wished that someone would change me into my pj’s and carry me to the car – then let me fall asleep on the car ride home and then carefully transfer me into my bed. Gosh the kiddies have it good.

As you know, I’m joining link ups this year and this link up is hosted by Celia’s from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. I can’t believe that this will be the last month that Celia is hosting the IMK link up – she has been the most wonderful host for the past 5 years and I hope this isn’t the end of her blogging journey.

In my December kitchen…

I’ve been busy whipping this up with the awesome beetroot from Burrabee Farm that I pick up at the Eat Local Friday Markets at the National Botanical Gardens. I have really been enjoying it raw in my beetroot coleslaw. Simply peel it and grate it – I thought, you can eat a carrot that way, so why not a beetroot?

In my December kitchen…

I’ve been whipping up these delicious breakfast muffins from The Toddler Ingredient. She published this recipe on her Instagram account and I thought – ‘boy that sounds good, I’d enjoy that let alone the kids’. They are super tasty and so good to have on hand at this time of year, when we might reach for junk out of convenience. They are refined sugar free, filled with oats, whole meal flour, chia seeds and grated carrot { I grated in a whole bunch of baby carrots from Burrabee Farm}. They are really oaty/nutty in flavour and rather filling.

In my December kitchen…

I always have something special on hand to whip up a mocktail. With friends dropping in with little to no notice {which I am totally cool with – we do it to people all the time}, I think it is super nice to have something to offer a pregnant/breast feeding/ non-alcoholic beverage drinking person {because I have been that person for so long}. And heck, if you don’t have any non-drinkers you can simply add a shot of your chosen spirit and you have yourself a cocktail. This is one of my favourite combos at the moment: fresh mint, passionfruit, coconut water and soda water – bubbles just make everything better.

In my December kitchen…

I have a large selection of nibbles to have with said alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks when people pop in. It’s so simple to create something like this – a wedge or two of cheese, a dip, some cold meat, some gerkins and a choice of biscuit {oh and rocket makes everything a little special – but if you don’t have rocket on hand, why not garnish with some fruit? Strawberries or grapes work well}. And here is another tip; you don’t need to put a whole cheese out – less is more. In the heat, your cheese might start melting, or sweating, or going hard – and if you don’t eat it all, then you can’t put it back into the fridge. So place a wedge on your board and if you need to put more out, you always can.

In my December kitchen is…

All the ingredients for my prep ahead of time chicken ceasar salad. As the weather warms up, we eat a lot of salads around here. Some people might think ‘my toddler doesn’t eat salad’, but I think your toddler might eat the salad if you present it a little differently. My toddlers love grilled chicken, bacon, boiled eggs, cheese, croutons {which is just fancy bread} and I cut the lettuce so that they get maximum crunch factor and it is perfect for dipping into a little pot of dressing. I also do all of the meal prep during nap time so dinner can magically appear at the end of a hot day {when children or Mummy may be at their wits end} which aids in a happy meal time experience.

In my December kitchen…

We have MANGOES! They would have to be my favourite fruit and we picked up a box of these whilst we were driving home from Sydney {along with a box of cherries, but I think the cherries that I picked up from the Eat Local Friday Market from Young where better}.

In my December kitchen…

I’m going to be whipping up Boiled Eggs and Soldiers’ Soy and Coconut chicken a few more times. It was so easy to make {and I do not own a Thermomix} and it was the first time that I had cooked brown rice in a long time {which made me think, ‘why had I stopped putting it on my groceries list?’}. The boys loved the chicken and the rice and the steam brocollini. I tossed the brocollini in some sesame oil and some sesame seeds and that really hit the spot.

In my December kitchen…

We’ve got watermelon – does anything say summer more then watermelon?

In my December kitchen…

I have Christmas editions. I love looking through the Christmas editions and deciding what we are going to enjoy during the festive season – because it is always more then just Christmas Day. Umm Delicious, you had me at Matt Moran’s Gaytime Trifle.

Do you try new recipes on Christmas Day or do you stick to the traditional? What is your favourite summertime fruit? Do you have friends dropping in or do you like to drop in on your friends?