HERE'S TO A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Raising a Bloody Mary as we speak.

Signing off for another eventful year, and a far-too-eventful Christmas, and hoping for a non-eventful next few days.

The more ‘events’ there are in life, the more I appreciate people who take things in their stride. Who just get on with it. Who diffuse difficult situations with skill and humour. We need people like that, not only in our own homes, but in our extended families, in our communities, our media, our state and feederal governments, and around the world. Let’s make it a global new year resolution.

Speaking of events, I think it’s going to be a bloody mary sort of time leading up to the new year. “Fancy a bloody mary?” are the words you want to hear, even if it was 11am this morning as distant smoke clouds lowered in the Victorian sky.

It’s a straightfowardly spicy, tangy, fruity drink that also has a food component. It’s both bloody and merry. It’s the drink for our times.

In the meantime, here’s my brother’s simple, fundamental, no-fuss, not-a-recipe that he put together on the spot, and I just happened to snap the end result as I passed through the kitchen on the way to the fruit toast.

BLOODY MARY

• Tomato juice, or tomatoes and their juices pulped from a can.

• Vodka (one part vodka to three parts tomato)

• Couple of shakes of Tabasco

• A little horseradish, to taste

• A shake of Worcestershire sauce

• Celery salt, to taste (most important)

• Celery stalks for swizzling

Shake, swizzle or stir all ingredients bar the celery.

Serve cold, with the celery.

That’s it, you’re done.

If you want to get fancy, you can add ice cubes, lemon zest or juice, paprika, jalapeno brine, and a skewer of pickles, olives and cherry tomatoes; and have fluffy celery leaves like this one from Good Food (pic by Marina Oliphant).

But please don’t feel you have to. At this arse-end of the year, just getting to January 1, and making a decent bloody mary, is enough.

Sending love and all the best wishes in the world to those facing their own events, and wishing I could make you all a bloody mary. All the best for the happiest of new years, thanks, J.

Thanks for dropping by! And as always, thanks for your comments and suggestions. Special thanks to Terry, for everything, and Tony for the BMs.

I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which I work, live, cook and play; the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to Elders past and present, and to the continuing strength and resilience of First Nations people, communities and cultures.