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With Christmas dinner and Christmas cookies and Christmas parties, sometimes Christmas breakfast seems like a bit more ado.  Plus, it’s time to just sit.  No more rushing, no more shopping, no more hubbub.  And still on December 25th, clad in pajamas, sitting among bits of wrapping paper and ribbon, it just doesn’t seem right to start the day off with a weekday bowl of cereal.  You need something special, something delicious, something inexpensive, after all of that holiday shopping. And if you’re the designated cook, then it needs to be fast and easy, so you can be there sitting when that wrapping paper and ribbon tumble to the floor, and oohs and aahs make all the hustle and bustle worthwhile.  I’ve got just the recipe for you: Super Easy Santa Fe Breakfast Strata.  Make it up the night before and pop it in the fridge.  In the morning you’ll simply bake it for forty minutes, filling the house with comforting anticipatory smells while you sit back on the couch and enjoy it all.  Merry Christmas and Happy Sitting!  Super Easy Santa Fe Breakfast Strata

Estimated Cost: $5.00 for 6-8 servings

1/ 2 loaf French bread, about 8 ounces, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend, or shredded cheddar

1 (4 ounce can green chilies

1 and 3/4 cups milk (low-fat is fine)

5 eggs

1 cup salsa- red or green work well, plus more for serving

1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Generously coat a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.  Scatter half of the bread pieces on bottom of pan.  Cover with half of the cheese and all of the green chilies.  Top with remaining bread and remaining cheese.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, salsa, salt and pepper.  Pour over the top of the bread.  Push down on bread with spoon to coat with egg mixture.  Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least two hours.  Bake at 400 degrees for forty minutes, or until casserole is puffed and browned.

For other great money saving recipes and ramblings about life and food in general, visit Prudence Pennywise. 

I suspect this is the last photograph and write-up from Jackie for 2008 — I very much appreciate her efforts in helping with BPotD. Jackie writes:

The goal for most visitors on safari in South Africa”s Kruger National Park, is to capture a glimpse of the “Big Five” — buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion and rhino. The term “Big Five” was first used by game hunters, to describe the five most dangerous (and thus most coveted) animals to hunt. Nowadays, the majority of hunting is done by wide-eyed tourists with cameras, and the thrill comes from the moment you see one of these magnificent animals sauntering across the savannah (if you haven”t seen it, check out this Youtube video: Battle at Kruger).

Some of us embark on safari with camera in hand looking for a different kind of thrill, the chance to see the “Big Five” trees — baobab (Adansonia digitata), knob thorn (Acacia nigrescens), marula (Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra), mopane (Colophospermum mopane) and the fever tree (Acacia xanthophloea) in the wild.

Acacia xanthophloea definitely merits inclusion in the coveted “Big Five”. Native to southern Africa, this large deciduous tree, can reach 10-30 m. It is the smooth, luminous, green-yellow bark that grabs your attention as it glows in the African sun. The trunk is coated in a yellow powder, which rubs away to reveal bright green bark beneath.

The genus name Acacia is derived from the Greek akis meaning “a sharp point”, in reference to the sharp spines possessed by many members of this group. The species name xanthophloea is derived from the Greek xanthos (yellow) and phloios (bark).

The common name, fever tree, was given by European settlers who associated the tree with terrible illness. In reality, it was the habitat that caused the fevers — not the tree. Acacia xanthophloea is native to hot, dry parts of southern Africa. Within these locations, the trees tend to thrive in low lying pockets of water. These swampy places are breeding ground for mosquitoes, and the fever people were suffering from was malaria.

The leaves of the fever tree are small and pinnate, the flowers are fragrant yellow pom-poms produced from September to November, and the seeds are contained in straight, flat pods. Aluka has a technical description of Acacia xanthophloea, accompanied by a good photograph of the bark.

By:  Daniel Mosquin                        Source

I’m so excited because over the weekend I was offered a plot in a local community garden. I was waitlisted at three gardens and had pretty much given up hope of getting a plot this late in the game. But it turned out there were some openings at Foxpoint Community Garden, so I showed up this morning, plunked down $25 and claimed Plot 94, the most beautiful 8 ‘ x 4′ -ish patch of dirt that you ever did see.

For those of you that don’t know, my husband and I sold our house last summer and are temporarily living in an apartment with no yard or garden. I’ve been trying to get my gardening fix with houseplants and it’s not the same (although I do enjoy my beautiful bougainvillea). I’ve really been dreading the approaching summer with no garden to play in, so Plot 94 is a great joy to me.

This week I’ll put down some compost and do some planning, and buy some bamboo poles and any other supplies. I don’t exactly know what I’m going to plant yet….tomatoes, peppers, herbs, cucumbers, just basic stuff I guess. I want some annuals too, so I can have have some flowers to tend to.

I wasn’t prepared for a day in the garden today…it was a fairly last minute notice and I didn’t know what to expect; I wasn’t wearing gardening clothes; and I didn’t have any tools or compost. Plus the weather was cool and drizzly. But all of a sudden there I was, just me and Plot 94, and I wanted to do something besides turn around and go home.There were some weeds–nothing serious, just a few. So I weeded–and it felt so good to get my hands dirty!

By:  Caroline Brown                        Source