Kunming

I am sitting here trying to figure out what was it about Kunming that made it so beautiful, it's hard to put into words.  Thinking about it critically, it wasn't the city itself.  While not the dusty dirtiness of northern Chinese cities, Kunming did not have any of it's own special charm.  In fact, I think I only took pictures of one temple, and a gate here and there.  But underneath a crystal clear blue sky even the shabbiness of the buildings seemed pretty.  And now that I'm thinking about it, that has to be what it was.  The blue blue sky, the green green grass, and the sparkles of the sun dancing off the lake (in the park near our hotel).  The weather was awesome.  Right on the edge of being hot, but never quite making it.  In the background there are mountains, and lots and lots of greenery.  In some ways it reminded me of Southern California.  I think coming from the land of the perpetual grey skies (Chengdu) it was shocking just to see blue skies.  Anyway, a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.  Some views of the lake, and also of the really Yum yum yummy Yunnan food.  Have I mentioned that I LOVE how much variety there is of Chinese food?  Just one district over from Sichuan and already you have a completely different food experience, instead of a mouth numbing intestine burning dining experience.  There is a sweet/sour burning that sets your mouth on fire, but does not burn in your intestines for days.  Also lots of fresh fruit and edible flowers.  What's not to love?

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

Chutney and baby booties

It's been awhile since I've done a what I'm cooking post.  Mainly because the farm subscription has been boring.  I understand it was winter, things don't really grow in the winter, but MAN did I ever get tired of greens.  However, two weeks ago I got a two handfuls of long green hot peppers (I looked it up and this was the best name I could find), which gave me pause.  In the past, hot peppers would not have been a problem, I would just chop them up and add them to everything.  But since Babes has been with us, I can't take the heat, and she can't either.  So what's a woman to do with the hot pepper bounty?  CHUTNEY!  I don't think I've ever had chutney before this winter when NY galpal and I went to do a cooking class at Camaje.  In the class we did a whole Indian menu, and most of it was pretty simple, and Chutney is SO good.  Which is what I ended up doing at home too.  It started off as "well let me make chutney with these hot peppers"  And then since it was vegetarian night I thought I would make Eggplant fritters with the eggplant in the fridge, but instead of making them Italian like the recipe called for I added a barrage of spices to turn them into Curried eggplant fritters.  Add some random stir fried veggies, and curried Indian chickpeas and you have this:

From Blogger Pictures

In other news, I have been knitting a flurry of baby related items.  For my new niece (Welcome to the world Niecey!), And for two little boys that are due to arrive in our community before the fall.  So just for the awww factor, here are a some baby booties for your viewing pleasure.  All were knit with local self striping yarn.  I love this stuff, except for the tendency for the stripes to not knit out the same.   From Blogger Pictures From Blogger Pictures

The classiest McDonalds I've ever seen

Last week I had to go downtown to get my camera lens fixed. I left right after I took Babes to school, but ended up getting there WAY before the Nikon store opened. After looking around, McDonald's seemed to be my best bet for a place to sit down and wait without going too far. When I walked in though, I thought for sure I had wandered into a restaraunt or something. This place did not look like any McDonald's I've ever seen. (It was though, and I had an egg mcmuffin to prove it).

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

I do NOT live in the US

I do NOT live in the US.  There I've said it.  Now if only I believed it. Part of the problem with being an expat (as opposed to immigrating) is the feeling of being neither here nor there.  I've lived in China now for over a year and I don't feel like I live here.  Point of fact, I don't really have a "home" (unless you count where my parents live).  DH constantly gets mad at me when I say I'm going "home" for Christmas, or when are we going "home" for a visit, etc., but I have to say I do not feel that China is home.  Yes, DH, Babes, and Honeydog are all here with me, all our crap is here, but it feels temporary.  I don't know how to explain it.  Maybe it's just the mental attitude, as an expat, everything is temporary.  I know that we are only going to be in China for two years, and then we'll go somewhere else.  I also live outside of the everyday life experiences that your average Chinese person would have.  I don't pay local bills, I don't really use local internet (I can use facebook and blogger through a proxy).  I don't think of myself as Chinese.  I'm not trying to raise my daughter to go through their educational system. 
But at the same time I don't live in the US.  Every month we spend away I get a little farther from that culture and what's going on now.  Some of it I'm very happy about.  For instance I am only vaguely aware that there have been some massive panic attacks over plastics.  But it is very weird to not have an idea of what's super hot, or what kind of music is on the radio right now, or even what TV show everyone is talking about.  I'm not following politics or even major news. 
So where does that leave me?  Or worse, where does that leave Babes?  Will she be one of those kids who claims to be American, but has only visited on holidays?  Where will she think of as home?  One of the many featureless apartments that we live in overseas with our Drexel heritage furniture (the brand of furniture that is furnished in USGovt housing worldwide)? 
I know she's getting more life experiences and a much broader perspective than she could have in the US.  And she will be getting a better education (in most cases), but still I wonder if this lifestyle will help or hurt her.  Would she be better off with more stability and less perspective? 

So you think you have traveled

This is what I thought before I had Babes (and I only have one, I can't imagine 2, 3, or 4).  Traveling as an adult without kids is stressful.  There are hotels to book, tickets to buy, clothes to prepare….a hundred and one little things to get sorted out to ensure a pleasant journey.  With a kid there are a million and one little things to take care of so that the possibility of a pleasant journey is there.    In the past, once I was on my way the stress of traveling eased and I could relax and enjoy myself.  After all, if I had my tickets, my ID, and packed clothes to wear everything else would sort itself out.  In fact, when I met DH I found my perfect traveling companion, he liked to have a plan, so I only had to pack my bags and show up and he took care of the rest.  I like to think we were perfect together, he found exciting things to do and I never complained, provided companionship, could read a map and navigate us to almost anywhere. 

Now that we have a kid though, it is a different kettle of fish altogether (what the heck is a kettle of fish? Why did I just use that expression).   In the past it was always my goal to walk on board a plane with just my tiny purse and a book.  More than anything I hate carry-on luggage.  I hate the overhead bins, I hate jamming crap under the seat in front of you and I hate everyone in front of you who is trying to do that.  Now I LIVE by carry-on luggage.    There are toys, snacks, changes of clothes, blankets, books, and a myriad of other things that need to be carried on for a 24 hour journey. 

BUT, and Mister Business Man this is directed at you, I can get myself, AND my four year old through security faster than you can with your stupid laptop, and I resent the look I get when I get into a security line ahead of you.  We know the procedures, and we are prepared.  My child and I wear loose fitting clothing with no unsuspecting metal parts that can set off a metal detector and shoes that will easily slip off when we get to the front.  I pack all my liquids in an easily accessible place so that I can whip them out and then back in when I need to.  And even when we had to use a stroller, I only needed more than a few seconds once… the first time, when they told me that I would have to put the stroller through the machine and, well it was my first time traveling with a baby and I had no idea how to do that with one hand.  Whereas you, Mister Business Man always seem surprised that you have to take off your shoes, and take your laptop out of the bag.  IT SAYS IT ON THE SIGN, how many times have you traveled?  Oh and your stupid belt…  How many times do you need to travel before you figure out you have to take it off ahead of time?  I remembered after the first time I traveled, many many years ago, and haven't worn one to travel since.  You can't be that busy, I remember to do all these things AND I am watching a four year old who is trying to lick the security rails. 

Once on the plane, I used to kick back with my book, for a bit, and then I'd sleep the rest of trip, or maybe watch a movie or two.  Now I'm lucky if I can watch a movie all the way through if they play it three times on the plane.  And sleep?  Ha I can get maybe an hour or two!  You may be thinking how hard can it be?  You just sit in a seat.  But then you must not remember being three.  Three year olds have the very short attention spans, unlimited energy, and boundless curiosity.  They have to touch EVERYTHING.  They have to squirm, kick, jump, wriggle, flop…..  I could go on but you get the point.  So as a concerned parent I have to be vigilant against the child kicking the other passengers, annoying the other passengers or being entirely too loud altogether.  So it's a constant struggle to stay one step ahead of the active mind of the child before she finds something to amuse herself.  I can't wait until she's a little bit older and we can do littlest pet shop toy sets.  

And then there's the jet lag…….               

Mashawna

LuoDai

This past Saturday we went to the newly built ancient town of Luo Dai. The weather was actually pretty nice, it was warm enough to be outside in light jackets, and the sun actually shined every so often. I'm not actually sure what it is you are supposed to see while you are there, but the town was nice. A paved pedestrian area lined with shops, snack places and restaraunts, sprinkled with a couple of old temples and gates. It was great scenery as well as excellent people watching. Chinese people seemed to either be getting rides in pedi cabs or these weird wheelbarrows with seats decorated with flowers and playing music. I know it sounds weird, but these things were all the rage. Way more popular than the traditional pedi cabs. It was also very popular for young ladies to dress up in 1980's style prom dresses and take a prom picture (I don't think they were taking prom pictures, but that's what it looked like). Since it was one of the first nice days we had it was pretty crowded. Babes, of course, was the center of a lot of attention. It always amuses me when people almost walk into one another because they can't stop staring at my beautiful daughter.

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

crafts, cars, and lunch

I finally finished one of the two baby sweaters I've been knitting for the little baby boom that has been going on in my world.  My brother and a good friend from college are both having babies this summer so I decided to knit them baby bear sweaters. It was just supposed to take two months, but I wanted them to look awesome AND I was super busy in the US so they bled into a third month.  They also required me to seam which I've never done on such a large project but I found an excellent online guide at Studio Knits.

From Blogger Pictures

Also yesterday I went to get an oil change, all by myself.  Now, you might be thinking to yourself "so what, getting an oil change is no big deal"  But you'd be wrong.  First of all, they are doing construction up and down the airport expressway so while the Toyota dealership is only 15 minutes away, it took me over 2 hours to find the place.  I could see it almost the whole time, but I could not for the life of me figure out how to get there.  I kept getting closer and further away, closer and further away.... When I finally did make it there it was during lunch time and all the front office people kept trying to get me to go get lunch.  But I told them, in my toddler Chinese, that it took me forever to find the place so I would just wait because I wasn't leaving.  Now onto the second problem....  How much do you know about what they are talking about when you get an oil change?  I know that there's a filter involved, and oil, but that's about it.  Now, imagine trying to conduct this business in a language you barely speak.  None of my Chinese involves anything to do with cars.  Basically I told them, Change Oil, and if they asked me anything, I said just Change Oil.  They tried to sell me the expensive oil (I think) and I said, no, just the common oil, and then they asked something else, and I said Change Oil.  I'm sure they thought I was none too bright.

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

On the bright side, they took pity on the poor lost foreigner and fed me lunch at the Toyota Employee cafeteria.  The food was pretty good.  It didn't look great (Chinese food served buffet style almost never does) but it tasted pretty yummy.  And they washed the car.  So I got the signature Toyota service oil change, lunch, and a car wash for about $50 US.  Not cheap, but I found it myself, got it done-in Chinese, and made it back in one piece.  All in all a successful trip!

Lemon Tea Bread Muffins

Just to keep posting. Here's some pics of muffins I made from the Lemon Tea Bread recipe in the Southern Living Cookbook. Very different from my usual muffins, but it has gotten me thinking.... Lemon leftover oatmeal muffins? While searching around I also came upon strawberry muffins... Lemon Strawberry Leftover oatmeal muffins? Stay tuned for more experimenting.

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

The only thing is I think I over mix my muffins. I rarely get the rounded top.... I'm going to have to do some research...

Pasta Pasta!

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

This week in an attempt to cure my doldrums on returning to post I decided to finally crack open the pasta making attachment I got for Christmas this year.  And I have to say WOO HOO for the proper equipment!  I made pasta by hand once a long long long long long time ago, but the resulting mess was horrible.  The noodles were thick and spongy and just generally unappetizing.   Plus it took FOREVER!  With that in mind I blocked off a huge chunk of time for pasta and sauce making, but swish swish!  I was done in half the time.  I LOVE MY KITCHENAID!  The pasta making attachment zipped the dough through in no time, and then lickety split cut up the pasta into thin noodles.  I am so excited!  We can have fresh pasta all the time!

escape plan

The events in the Middle East over the last month has highlighted one of the things that I fear the most about the foreign service.  An unplanned evacuation.  As a foreign service family there are a lot of hardships and difficulties that we deal with on a day to day basis.  Most of them are minor and can be dealt with, or ignored.  You know, not understanding the local language, frustrations over local customs that you might not understand, not being able to find a peanut butter that you like, etc.  Not a big deal.  But as the events in Libya have shown sometimes things can go from unpleasant to serious in a matter of weeks, if not days.  Or they can go from bad to worse in a matter of hours.
Since they evacuated the embassy in Egypt I've been trying to figure out what we would do in such a situation.  We have an emergency bag packed.  It's got a change of clothes, our passports, toothbrushes, Honey's rabies certificate, etc.  But, like in Libya, what if we have to evacuate quickly.  What would happen to Honey?  What about all the pictures and the little things that I've collected over the years that have some sort of emotional significance (like Babes' first pair of shoes)?  Would that stuff get packed up if things stabilize?  Will it get torched by the locals?   And poor Honey, the thought of having to leave her behind breaks my heart.  DH claims it's my fault for wanting a dog, but she has added so much to our lives, I can't imagine leaving her to her fate.
There are so many things to be thankful for while we live overseas, but there is also danger, frustration, and loneliness.  And yes, we signed up for it, and yes, we know it's a possibility that the country we are living in could destabilize under your feet, but it's a price we are willing to accept because we think the work the Embassies and consulates do overseas is very important.  

New Hope

The past two weeks have found me in the suburbs and surrounding areas of Philadelphia.  In an effort to do something different I met a friend in New Hope and Lambertville.  I think this is one of those "revamped" small towns that now cater to the antiquing set.  It is basically a town that consists of a main street, and several smaller streets that spoke off the main one.  There are lots of furniture shops, restaurants, coffee houses, and general kitsch shops.  Very very cute, and very very expensive.  I know I'm cheap.  Yes, I admit it.  I'm cheap, but I will sometimes pay for something if it's quality (not always, I like to shop on sale), but this is a recent development.  DH has been working hard to get me to spend more than $50 on a pair of shoes, or pay more for the expensive phone that will last longer than a year.  And I have slowly started to listen.  But this stuff is expensive!  Which is unfortunate, because some of the furniture they had was really cool, funky, and a little odd.  Perfect for us!
But that's ok, I figure we can save up (that's my answer for everything)!  In the meantime, as we were meandering the shops I noticed some hand knit items, so I casually wandered over to see how much they were, just curious.... and I was BLOWN AWAY!  Yes I used all caps on purpose.  I saw socks for $15 a pair!  Scarves for $80 and those little knit flowers that I love to do for Zora and can churn out in an hour $12!!!!!!!!!!!  People have said that I should sell my stuff, but I always thought that what I would have to price them at, no one would pay, but I guess I was wrong.  SO CRAZY!  I'm totally going to open a knitting boutique next year!  TOTALLY!

The US

As you can probably tell, I'm in the US now.  Firmly ensconced in the in-laws house in Philly, well, the suburbs of Philly.  I've been visiting friends.  I've got internet - unfettered internet, I've got a cell phone, and a new ipod touch.  We have a car, an ATM card, and credit cards, and stores glorious stores!  Oh and grandparents!  Life is good.

San Fransisco

I lived in Southern California for 9 years...  The last two years of high school, summers and winters in college, and three years of law school, but I have Never been to San Fransisco.  I know, I know, it's shocking, but SF was nine hours away by car and expensive by plane, and I never found the time, or the travel partners to get up there. 
So it was with great excitement that we planned to make a 2 1/2 day stoppover in SF on our way back to the East Coast for vacation.  Unfortunately, during the same time we planned our trip things in Cairo heated up.  Now how, you might ask, do the protests in Cairo effect a trip to SF?  Well, I'm glad you asked, see DH is a consular officer, these are the people in an embassy or consulate who issue visas, passports, and perform general American Citizen services.  When things in Cairo went to pieces most civilized countries sent extra diplomats to the area to help their citizens in Cairo safely evacuate to another location.  The US is no exception.  DH volunteered to help process American Citizens in trouble, those who might need, visas for family members, or update passports, or birth certificates, or the like.  He was gone for less than a week but missed SF altogether.  In the grand scheme of things, not a tragedy, and generally speaking, I am capable of traveling on my own and having a perfectly grand time without him, but!  And it's a big but!  It IS a big deal when you are traveling to a new city, jet lagged, AND with a jet lagged 3 year old. 
Even with all that, I LOVED SF.  It feels like a newer cleaner East Coast city with the beautiful California skies and coast line.  It's hard to say how much of my impressions of CA are colored by Chengdu.  After months of gray colorless skies and damp cold weather, the pale blue skies of CA, the beautiful sparkling water, and the general greenery of the city were like music to my tired eyes.  The people were also blessedly polite.  I almost wanted to shop and by things because I found every thank you, every have a nice day, every smile to be a salve on the wounded veneer of my heart.  I KNOW Californians are not that polite so I know at least this was due to the wretched grumpiness of my dealings with people in China. 
But I loved it so. 

Shanghai

I finally published this post that I started way back at the end of January....

I'm finally back from my whirlwind tour of China with my sister.  When I worked in the consular section in Beijing I always thought it was crazy that Chinese business men would go to America for a week and see 10 American cities.  But, this is the second whirlwind tour of China that I've done, so I guess it's not that crazy.  After spending several days in Chengdu, Sis and I flew to Shanghai.  While in Shanghai we stayed in the French Concession.  Granted we were only there for a day, but Shanghai is a very pretty place, even with snow melting into mud puddles on the street.  As we breezed through (no time to stop and look, we only had a day to see everything we could) the streets I couldn't help but notice the little bakeries, the small clothing shops, and even tinier coffee shops.
Unfortunately we had to whisk ourselves right out of the French Concession and into the very heart of Shanghai.
It is easy to see how Shanghai can be considered to be one of the cities of the future.  It is growing at an amazing rate, clean and modern.  In comparison to Chengdu, traffic flows nicely, people follow traffic laws, and pedestrians stay on the side walks and in cross walks (for the most part).  The Shanghainese are fashion conscious and stylish. 
When I see Shanghai, I am reminded again how Americans are losing sight of what's important.  Yes, American cities are at a disadvantage, after all how many US cities can boast a population of several million people, but still, the city center in Shanghai is bustling.  Lights, shops, eateries, all centered around a fairly busy pedestrian street.  The subways are clean and efficient, and there are buses that connect the distant parts of the city (so I'm told, Chinese busses still scare me, the maps are in Chinese, and the streets often fly by too fast to read a map). 
Seeing all this, I wonder what the world expo was like.  I'm sorry I missed it, I've been told it was a sight to behold.

cool Picture

I just love this picture

From Blogger Pictures

New Year!

It's the New Year (yeah I know I'm late) and we are already back in gear! After the child and husband mutinied I was forced to leave the tree up an extra week, but it's finally down. I don't know why, I think it's parental influence, but having the tree up past New Year feels a bit like clinging to the old year. I like to have Christmas done and put away so that we can get onto new business!
My sister is coming this week and I plan on taking a TON of photos and we're doing a bunch of traveling so I hope to take some time to update the TRAVELING part of my now non-travel related blog. Maybe I should change the description of my blog. Because really it's now more about stay at home mommying overseas. We don't travel NEARLY as much as we used to. *SIGH* I miss it. BUT little sis is coming and then we are headed back to the US to try to visit EVERYONE, and then when we get back, well I don't know.
But for now Happy New Year everyone!

A tale of two Christmases

We have come to that time of year when the annual battle between Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas begins. On one side of the battle are people who are not Christians, or who firmly believe in the separation of church and state and the freedom for everyone to practice their own religion. On the other are people who are Christians, and know that most of us in the US are Christians, and that even though we say we are a secular country we all know deep down that the US is a conservative Christian country.
Unfortunately, the issue is not as cut and dry as it seems. I have argued this with my mom on countless occasions because, even though I'm Christian, I don't believe that we should force everyone to say Merry Christmas. I'm for keeping Christmas a religious holiday that we celebrate in our own ways and not making it a mandatory observance for everyone.
In the US there are two Christmases. You might try to deny it and say that no, Christmas is the biggest religious holiday that there is and that's all there is to it. But you'd be wrong. Take a look at the Christmas decorations, specials, cards, and entertainment. You have your religious, Christian celebrations filled with the birth of Christ, nativities, and celebratory songs. Then there is the secular Christmas, dominated by Santa, reindeer, snowmen, gifts, and songs about Santa and snow.
And while we are forcing everyone to celebrate Christmas the secular Christmas is gaining ground. If you look at the Christmas specials they show on TV only one or two even mention the nativity or the birth of Christ, the rest are all about Santa, presents, and snow. All of the decorations in the stores are of the secular kind, and most of what people focus their attention on are presents. This was amply demonstrated last year when DH was talking to his language teacher about Christmas. He mentioned that I was going home for Christmas because it was a big Christian holiday and his teacher said that she had no idea that Christmas was a Christian holiday.
I know that it is the case here in China. There are Christmas decorations out everywhere and I'm fairly certain that most of the people with decorations in their windows are not Christians, nor do they have any idea what the holiday is about other than Santa and presents. Is this what the founders of the "stores against Christmas list" were after? Did they want to create a holiday that everyone celebrates, but which has no meaning? I think the fundamentalists are shooting themselves in the foot by insisting that everyone honor Christmas, pretty soon they are going to wake up to a world in which Christmas is presided over by Santa.

To market, to market to buy a ......

For today's adventure I went off to the great big lotus market (called hehuachi in Chinese). I've been to this market once before about two months ago. It is huge and sprawling and a bit overwhelming. Last time I went I had to take a taxi, which took me 45 minutes. However between then and now the new subway line has opened up and getting on the subway and heading north took maybe half that time. Unfortunately as we were on the subway heading north there was a HUGE fight on the train not half a car away from us. From what we could tell, it was between a man and a woman who didn't know each other, and it might have started over a seat. But they were angry. They were pushing, shoving, kicking, yelling, screaming... I'm talking high drama. I was impressed with the security though, by the time we got to the next station there were security waiting to take them off the train. I swear, the pent up anger in people here.
Ah, but the market. This market is crazy. They have just about everything there. For example, today the people in my group bought Christmas decorations, wrapping paper, stationary, wind chimes, ribbon, painted pictures, seat cushions, fabric, metal snaps, buttons, wall stickers, and toys. We could have also bought rugs, plastic flowers, purses, cross stitch kits, costumes, aprons, blow driers, irons, and furry pants. Plus hundreds of other things that it would take me all day to name.
I think it would take you at least a year to go through every single stall there. Every where you look someone is selling something or other and for cheap. I didn't even bargain at most places because the price was so low to begin with that I couldn't see how the people would make money. For instance a bought about 30 buttons for a dollar. How are you going to make that cheaper, and is it even worth it. Sure I could have gotten it for 75 cents, but why?

One of those women

So yesterday I went to my first Holiday Planning meeting as a wife of a diplomat. I have always avoided such things in the past by either working or leaving post. But this year I am in town and my child is too big for me to say I'm too busy. *sigh* I've crossed over and become one of "those" women. It's not bad I guess. I am involved in what happens over the holiday, and I can steer events towards things that I like or Babes likes, but still.
I knew this before though. We've only been at post 3 1/2 months and I've already been to 3 maybe 4 potlucks and I'm pretty sure we've got at least 3 more before the end of the year. So I've decided that I need a casserole warmer. But all the ones I have found are so old fashioned. You know, big sunflowers on the top and what not. I've decided that if I'm going to knit or crochet one I need to put something cool on top. But so far I can't find a 3 dimensional pattern for a Darth Vader helmet or tie fighter. *SIGH* I might just have to make the lame sunflowers.

Spiced Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins

From Blogger Pictures

Thanks to Halloween and our regular vegetable delivery I have found myself with an over abundance of pumpkin. I cooked some, pureed it and stashed it in the freezer and I'm going to put some in Chili tonight, but this morning for breakfast I decided to try to spice up my regular oatmeal muffins and combine it with a pumpkin gingerbread recipe that I found on the internet. The result was very good, if I do say so myself. Here's the recipe:

Spiced Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins

• 1 C flour
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1/2 C pumpkin puree
• 1 C leftover cooked oatmeal
• 1/2 C molasses (I'm wondering if this could be reduced to 1/4)
• 1/2 C raisins
  

1. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients
2. In another bowl mix together eggs, pumpkin, oatmeal, molasses and raisins
3. Add to dry ingredients mix until just moistened
4. Spoon batter into lined or lightly greased muffin cups
5. Bake at 350 until muffin centers are slightly firm.

Enjoy!