The Happy Gourmet is more than happy this month - in fact the Gourmet Shopper is positively delirious because it is the beginning of Summer. The season that has such wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables and which comes with the promise of Christmas and the foods that make this festive occasion so special. All the merchants at Gourmet Shopper have Christmas in mind so look for their Christmas specials and go to the recipe site which has lots of ideas for the season.

There are many ways to approach Christmas. There is the traditional route which is hard to let go - turkey, plum pudding, brandy butter, Christmas cake and all the trappings. Hot food that is better served in the Australian winter but which for generations has come to mean Christmas as it was understood by the settlers who came from England and Ireland and who pined for the comfort of their own festive foods. Old engravings show them sitting down to a festive table groaning with the foods they knew from their past such as hot turkey with chestnut stuffing, hams, plum puddings whilst the diners themselves were dressed in their best - woollen suits, long serge skirts worn with long sleeved boned shirts and full corsets. And all of this in temperatures often over 40 degrees. No wonder that over time there has been a major change with regard to what is the best fare for Christmas in Australia.

The 'modern' Australian Christmas Day food is far more climatically appropriate. Served mainly cold, it more often than not, consists of a variety of seafoods, hams and salads, iced confections and even iced Christmas puddings. Christmas Day picnics on the beach or in the bush and Christmas Day barbeques have now added an Australian 'spin' to the traditional Christmas table at home.

Whatever your choice may be, the ease of being able to source whatever you want whenever you want it, makes any of the ingredients easy to obtain.

For me, Christmas time is marked by the wonderful fruits and vegetables available in the market. Mangoes to slice fresh for breakfast or for dessert, to add to duck, turkey or chicken, and if all else fails to daiquiris, are the markers for the holiday season. They are closely followed by the stone fruits, berries, asparagus and artichokes, grapes and figs and the lushness of melons.

How lucky we are in this country and funnily enough how I missed this time of year when I have had Christmas overseas. Yes it was wonderful to be able to eat the traditional foods when it wasn't 40 degrees but I did miss the seafood, the crisp white wine and the mangoes! I guess that a summer Christmas is what I know and love best.

There is however one tradition that I can't do without and this is Christmas Cake. Whilst the rest of the meal on Christmas Day can be light and easy, Christmas Cake is a must. Either the traditional Christmas Cake with its full complement of fruits which have been marinated in brandy or whisky, or what is known as the American Christmas Cake with whole nuts and fruits and a mere whisper of cake holding them together. Other cultures have Christmas cakes that are not as heavy such as the German Stollen and the Italian Panforte

Everyone on Gourmet Shopper hopes that you all enjoy the Christmas season with your loved ones and that the year ahead brings happiness and peace to the world.

See you next month

The Happy Gourmet