Banana Muffins with Tahini and Silan Spread

I remember those minutes of leaving the house in the mornings a few years back when Tamar and Ido were still in kindergarten …

We are all set to go. I take my bag, then her bag, and his bag. In my right hand I pick up my lunch bag, and my keys. With my free hand (free?) I put on my sunglasses.
“Come on, let’s go to the kindergarten.”
They run and cling to the door, waiting to charge…
“Wait, be careful, stay away from the door, I open it”
I open the door carefully.
“Tell Kutcher (their four legs brother) goodbye”. “Bye Kutcher.” “Bye Kuti”. “Bye Kutcher.”
We leave the house and I lock the door.

Tamar orders the elevator. Ido runs to turn on the light. He stands at the switch and raises his hands up. “Light .. Light ..”. I pick him up so he can turn the light on. He becomes heavy the little fellow… The elevator doors open up and Tamar enters. I run quickly with all the bags and block the elevator doors so that they won’t close suddenly without us. Even though the elevator is here, Ido also presses the button to call it and then enters. Everyone is in.

Tamar presses the button to the ground floor. The elevator doors close. Without thinking twice Ido jumps and presses the button to the second floor, the floor we’re in. The doors open again. I give him the look, adding a little smile, and the doors close again. He jumps again to the elevator buttons and presses again on the second floor button. The doors open again. “Ido no, not now”, I mumble.  I corner both of them physically and block the elevator buttons. The doors close again. The elevator begins to go down, I clear the way to the buttons and Ido runs and presses again on the second floor (too late ..), and on the minus one floor …

We made it to the entrance level. The little ones run out in a frenzy. I wonder why is it and don’t know if to tell them to stop or smile for the naivety it represent. Tamar is first to the entrance door and pushes it. I rush quickly and hold it before it will be slammed on Ido and he passes me without noticing there was ever any danger. They continue their run outside, to the car, Tamar to the right side of the car, Ido to the left.
I open the door to Tamar and move to the other side of the car while she’s climbing to her chair. “Mum, buckle me up first!” “Of course”. I open the door to Ido and he begins to climb to his seat. I follow him with my eyes and come back again to Tamar’s side. I fasten her seat belt, and give her a kiss. “Do you want to close the door by yourself?” Slam. I Move to back to Ido’s side, open the passenger front door, and put down my lunch bag, then Tamar’s bag, then Ido’s bag, and then my bag and close the door. Then I go to Ido’s door and fasten his seat belt. a kiss. “Do you want to close the door by yourself?” Slam.
I return to the driver’s side of the car. Suddenly there is silence. They’re both safely in the car, I’m out. I Open the driver’s door, get in and start the engine. I open the air conditioner, turn the radio on, and put the car in reverse. “Mom.. don’t forget to put your seat belt on!”

A few years have passed since then. Tamar and Ido walk on foot to school. They don’t need my help to turn the light on or call the elevator, they also carry their own bags (most of the time). And still, those minutes, the minutes when you leave home to start a new day, always carry a certain feeling of frenzy, and in this sense they seem to repeat themselves every day.

These muffins can be used as a great breakfast. They are tasty, pretty, have oatmeal and whole wheat flour in (as far as I’m concerned, that’s a check on upgrading to a healthier version) and you can eat them on the way in the days you don’t really sit down to eat breakfast. When I prepare them I immediately freeze almost all the amount, and then when I wake up, take a few from the freezer – a few minutes outside and they defrost great.

For the tahini and silan (date syrup) spread use a store-bought spread that I live in peace with. I tried to make a kind of homemade paste with raw tahini and silan and the truth is that the muffins were really ugly. When the children were small I made them with Nutella spread instead of tahini, and also these days, most of the time, I make some of the quantity this way.

Banana Muffins with Tahini and Silan Spread
for 12 muffins

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
1½ cups whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup natural brown sugar (demerara or cane)
2+1/2 teaspoons baking powder (10 gr)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
120 gr/4.5 oz tahini and silan (date syrup) spread (a teaspoon for each muffin, I use this)

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C, line a 12 muffin pan with muffin tins.
2. In a medium bowl combine all the dry ingredients and stir.
3. In a small bowl beat egg, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Add the mashed bananas and stir till well combined.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients bowl and stir only till combined.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin tins. Add to each muffin a teaspoon of the tahini and silan spread, and with a toothpick or a knife cut the tahini spread into the batter making some sort of a star.
6. Bake between 17-20 minutes, till the muffins are golden and stable. Let it cool completely on a cooling rack.
7. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days, or in the freezer up to 3 weeks.

Notes:
• As said, you can use Nutella spread instead of the tahini spread. You can also combine the two spreads (1/2 teaspoon each from both spreads) and it will turn up yummy.
• For those who like the flavor, add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the mixture.