Pants v. Pantsless

Don't worry folks, I didn't disappear again.

I've just been busy. But not so busy that I forgot about lil ol' bloggie here.

In fact, I have a couple new recipe posts that I just might get to this evening if I finish my to-do list. If.

In the mean time, I'd like to pose a question. But first, some background.

I've been reading/hearing a lot about a new feminist movement within LDS culture. I imagine it's deeper than this, but pretty much the only thing I've heard about it is pants vs. dresses/skirts.

Heard about it? I've seen a bazillion posts/blogs/etc. about whether it's fair/not fair/don't care that women get to/have to/are expected to wear skirts and dresses, while men get to/have to/are expected to wear dress pants. Sounds silly to me. But I'll freely disclose -- I'm not a feminist.

Regardless of which side of the pants vs. pantsless movement you align yourself with, let me ask you this:

My husband always complains about how women get to wear skirts in the summer and men are stuck in collared shirts, ties and suits. He says it's not fair. He believes there would be much less arguing over temperature control in church buildings if women were dressed in similarly-heat-trapping-apparel. So ... can he join the LDS feminist movement too?

Just kidding.

But seriously. There are two sides to the argument. Maybe, just maybe, some men would prefer if they got to/had to/were expected to wear kilts. Or a tupenu. Or skirts.

My opinion: I like dresses. I prefer dresses to skirts, but skirts are cute too. I hate wearing pants unless they're of the "sweat," "pajama" or "yoga" variety. So I prefer to remain ... pantsless ... in church.

If you disagree, don't hate, just state ... your point of view.

And in case this post frustrated or upset you ... just look at this picture until you feel happy again.

I say a little prayer 4 you ...

Peyton has been learning to say his own prayers. He's doing surprisingly well. He consistently blesses the food before bed time and he's thoughtful of the lonely shoes on his dresser and the bibs in the drawer.

But he is also easily distracted.

Last night's prayer went something like this:

"Dear. Heavenly. Father.

Thank dee for ..."

"What are you thankful for, Peyton?" I prompted.

"Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. AMEN!"


(Added 11:44 a.m., 6 Dec 12): Peyton gave the same prayer over lunch, but instead of ending with amen, he continued with this after "ten ... ":

"F-I-R-E. Fire truck. Thank dee. Thank dee. Fire truck. F-I-R-E."

Dead phone

My phone is not dead ... it is only mostly dead. 

Meaning, it doesn't let me make or receive calls or texts, except when it randomly decides to tell me I have a zillion voice messages (that I can't call to access) and a bagillion texts (that I can read, but not respond to). 

Okay, so I'm definitely overstating my popularity here. The numbers are more like two and six, respectively. 

I'm pretty sure the phone carriers purposefully sell phones that give out right around the two-year mark. Although this one has survived several dips in bowls of soup and cups of water (don't ask). 

Of course, my to-do list had a bunch of things like, "Call so-and-so. Call doctor. Call bank. Call so-and-so." So much for that, eh? 

At least I can take solace in the fact that I have some handsome, entertaining little boys: 

Whitney's Bran Muffins

Bran and tasty can actually be used in the same sentence! Who knew? If you're wondering what's for breakfast this morning at the Condie household (which I'm sure you were just pondering), here it is! Peyton gobbles these bad boys up! And so do I.

Whitney's Bran Muffins:

Servings: 12 muffins

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 15-20 mins

Total time: 35 mins

• 1 1/2 C wheat bran
• 1 C buttermilk
• 1/3 C applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1 C whole wheat flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 C dates, chopped
• 1/2 C apples, chopped

Combine wheat bran and buttermilk. Stir and let stand for 10 minutes. Mix in remaining ingredients and stir until dry ingredients are moist and combined. Spoon into greased muffin pan and bake 15-20 minutes. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 65 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 106 Calories from Fat 9

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 1.0g 2%

Cholesterol 14mg 5%

Sodium 229mg 10%

Total Carbohydrates 23.8g 8%

Dietary Fiber 4.2g 17%

Sugars 9.9g

Protein 3.6g

Vitamin A 1% • Vitamin C 1% Calcium 6% • Iron 8%

Nutrition Grade B+

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• Low in saturated fat
• High in dietary fiber
• Very high in manganese
• High in magnesium
• High in phosphorus
• High in selenium

Bad points

• Very high in sugar

Sorry ...

Sorry for making so many posts. I combined my recipe blog with the family blog in an attempt (Yeah, yeah. I know. How many "attempts" is this woman going to make at blogging?) to make the idea of blogging less ... daunting. Not that I kept up either of them, but hey, blogger doesn't judge -- my blogs are still sitting there and waiting patiently for my next post.

Soooo ... since I've been gone ...

I gave birth!

And we blessed him!

His name's Bradley David Condie. He weighed in at 8 lbs 4 oz and 21" long.

And now he's big(ger).

Butternut Squash Soup

This is actually my own recipe! I'm not quite to the level of off-the-cuff, invent-your-own-recipe chef, but I'm getting pretty adept at combining and altering recipes and making them my own.

Whitney's Butternut Squash Soup

• 1 medium butternut squash, halved and seeded
• 2 T butter
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 3 C water
• 3 t chicken bouillon
• 1/2 t marjoram
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 1/8 t cayenne pepper
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 C chopped green onions (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cut squash in half and seed. Place the halves on a baking sheet, cut-side down. Bake until tender when pierced with a knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour.  

While the squash is roasting, heat butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrots and sweet potato and saute until onions are translucent. Add water, bouillon, marjoram, pepper and cayenne and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender.

Scoop flesh of squash into soup pot. Simmer for 5 minutes. 

Place cream cheese in blender and add the soup (or use an immersion blender and just plop the cream cheese in the soup pot). You may need to do this step in batches if you are using a regular blender. Blend the soup and cream cheese until smooth and transfer back to soup pot. Stir the soup in the pot (especially if you blended it in batches). Do not bring the soup to boil again. 

Serve garnished with green onions (Costco's sourdough bread also makes a delicious side). 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 302 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  147 Calories from Fat  47

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  5.2g 8%

Saturated Fat  3.2g 16%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  16mg 5%

Sodium  84mg 3%

Total Carbohydrates  24.6g 8%

Dietary Fiber  4.4g 18%

Sugars  6.0g

Protein  3.3g

Vitamin A 440% • Vitamin C 61% Calcium 10% • Iron 8%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• High in dietary fiber
• High in magnesium
• High in potassium
• Very high in vitamin A
• High in vitamin B6
• Very high in vitamin C

Bad points

• High in saturated fat
• High in sugar

Roasted Acorn Squash with Wild Rice Stuffing

So good. So filling. So fancy (at least I felt fancy eating it ... ). Enjoy.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Wild Rice Stuffing



Servings: 6
Total time: 1 hour 20 mins

• 3 medium acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds each), halved lengthwise and seeds removed
• 3 T unsalted butter, melted
• 1 T packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
• 4 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 T minced fresh thyme leaves
• 2 C cooked wild rice mix
• 2/3 C pecans, toasted and finely chopped
• 1/4 C dried cranberries, finely chopped
• 1 t kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

Heat the oven to 450°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

Place the squash cut-side up on a baking sheet, brush 1 tablespoon of the melted butter over the tops and insides of the squash halves, sprinkle with the brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until just fork tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place 1 tablespoon of the melted butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. When it foams, add the onion, shallots, and celery, season with salt and pepper, and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the thyme and cook until just fragrant, about 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in the rice, pecans, cranberries, and measured salt and pepper.

Divide the rice filling among the roasted squash halves (about 1/2 cup for each) and drizzle the remaining tablespoon of butter over top. Continue roasting until the squash is completely fork tender, the edges have started to brown, and the filling is heated through, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 321 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  429 Calories from Fat  138

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  15.3g 24%

Saturated Fat  4.5g 23%

Cholesterol  15mg 5%

Sodium  450mg 19%

Total Carbohydrates  68.5g 23%

Dietary Fiber  8.4g 34%

Sugars  4.0g

Protein  11.1g

Vitamin A 22% • Vitamin C 43% Calcium 11% • Iron 20%

Nutrition Grade A-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• Low in cholesterol
• High in manganese
• High in magnesium

Barley Hoppin' John

This is a healthy recipe that's quick and delicious. Can you say, "Win. Win. Win."?

Barley Hoppin' John

Servings: 4, 1 1/2 C each

Active time: 20 min

Total time: 40 min

• 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 14-oz can vegetable broth
• 1 C quick-cooking barley
• 1 T chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 t lemon juice
• 1/4 t crushed red pepper
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 15-oz cans black-eyed peas, rinsed

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and celery. Cook until the vegetables soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. 

Add broth, barley, thyme, lemon juice, crushed red pepper and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the barley is done, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in black-eyed peas. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 400 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  313 Calories from Fat  59

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  6.5g 10%

Saturated Fat  0.8g 4%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  518mg 22%

Total Carbohydrates  52.7g 18%

Dietary Fiber  10.9g 44%

Sugars  2.7g

Protein  15.8g

Vitamin A 14% • Vitamin C 47% Calcium 7% • Iron 27%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• Low in saturated fat
• No cholesterol
• Low in sugar
• High in dietary fiber
• High in magnesium
• High in thiamin
• High in vitamin C

Woe is naptime

Nap time hasn't always been a struggle.

Today it is. 

Actually, lately it has been. 

It seems so long ago (okay, maybe two weeks) that when I said, "Nap time!" Peyton would get excited, run to his bedroom door, pound on it until I let him in, and run straight to his crib. I'd lay him down and he'd fold his arms for nap time prayer, he'd smile, blow me a kiss, and slip silently into sweet dreams. 

These days are no more. 

It's a battle. A long one. And I'm just not sure what to do.

At least I can find comfort in cute photos of my bubba ... even if he's currently screaming and yelling my name (sometimes pleadingly, sometimes angrily).