WANDER into any supermarket on December 24 ...
Actually don't. It'll be chaos, because people will be panic buying ahead of, shock horror, two days without shops.
The odds are good that most will have their Christmas dinner groceries sorted.
The panic will centre around the "what if" factor.
What if ... people turn up unexpectedly on Boxing Day?
What if ... someone hatches a scheme during Christmas dinner for a Boxing Day picnic? Fear not.
It's possible to avoid the Christmas Eve panic and not end up with a cupboard and fridge full of fancy treats you may not use if no-one visits and Boxing Day's a dud.
For instance, stick with a large block of tasty cheese.
If guests arrive, chop it up into cubes and serve with savoury biscuits. If no-one comes, you'll be right for sandwiches.
Ditto for tea, coffee, milk, bread and all the other staples on our list.
The next thing to do (with the panic time not spent racing around the supermarket aisles) is to make a plan.
Decide what to do with those staples if visitors arrive or there's an impromptu get-together at the beach.
One of my friends gave me a recipe years ago for her zucchini slice — and it's saved my bacon (or ham) more than once.
Toss some sliced bacon or ham, grated tasty cheese, eggs, flour and oil into a bowl, stir into a nice mushy mix, bung it into an oven dish and bake until brown.
The full recipe is below.
Serve with salad (also on our list of staples) and some garlic bread or par-baked rolls (fully baked in the oven of course).
It tastes great hot, cold or room temperature, so it's equally good for picnics.
A cake mix can produce a relatively fast dessert or, even better, tinned fruit and ice cream.
As for drinks, I discovered this one during a visit to Penrith's Lewers Gallery recently and I'm planning to force it on my family and friends as often as possible these holidays.
Mix ginger beer, tropical juice, frozen raspberries, tinned passionfruit, mint and ice in a punch bowl.
Now the only things to panic about are the gifts, the decorations, the in-laws
ESSENTIALS
Frozen berries
A large tub of natural yoghurt
Tea, coffee
Mixed nuts
Cake mix
Flour
Sugar
Butter or margarine
Oil
Snags
Bread
Milk
Eggs
Tasty cheese
Tinned fruit
Salsa
Savoury biscuits
Ginger beer
Tropical juice
Lettuce,
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Zucchini
Garlic bread
Some mixed pressies for kids and grown-ups to prevent embarrassment if gift-laden guests arrive unexpectedly.
Zucchini slice recipe
2 large zucchini grated
1 cup grated tasty cheese
5 eggs beaten
1 chopped onion
1 cup self-raising flour
1 can of corn kernels drained
4 bacon rashers chopped (I also use ham, depending what's in the fridge)
1/3 cup of oil (I use olive but find this makes the slice heave, use vegetable oil for a lighter slice)
salt and pepper to taste
Mix it all together, put in a large overproof dish.
Cook at 180 degrees celcius for 40 minutes or until brown. (Put a skewer in the make sure it's cooked inside.)
I've served it hot, cold and room temp at home and take the barbecues and picnics.
What are your tips for surviving the last minute Christmas rush?
