Leslie’s Blasted! Banana Bread and Muffins with Namaste Muffin Mix

Challenger #2

Dry mix from package:
Plus;
8oz. NaSoya Silken Tofu
4 small bananas- mashed
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 Tbsp. Grated Lemon Zest
2 Eggs
¼ Cup Bertolli Extra Light Olive Oil

Add eggs and oil to package contents and mix as package directed. Add lemon
zest, vanilla and banana’s while beating.

Yields: 1 large loaf, Or -2 small loaves and 6 regular muffins Or- 3 small
loaves.

Note: Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees as this recipe blew up so quickly
into beautiful browned mounds of muffin tops and mountains of height on my
mini-loaves that I freaked out at 25 minutes cooking time on the muffins and
only let the breads bake for 35 minutes…only to watch them sink into themselves
upon cooling.
I fired up my oven …reducing the temperature on my big  Thermodor Convection oven to 325 degrees where it is happiest baking the majority of my stuff and stuck the two loaves in again for another 15 minutes just to bake them off.

As a rule this never works, but at $4.79 for my 16oz. Namaste’ Muffin
mix and their 400 degree oven temperature suggestion, I figured it wouldn’t be a
waste if it failed. (I’m thinking warm banana Bread pudding with ice
cream…hummm, as nothing from my kitchen is ever wasted.)

So now I’m not sure what I’ve got.... The batter tasted lovely and was
thick and dry enough for even more banana flavor as I kept adding them in…mine
were small to medium size. I’m very pleased with my muffins so I’d better see
how they taste as they are meant to be a gift for an old friend who loves my
baking. Hopefully they are a winner.

*Namaste’s Muffin Mix- “Made in a Dedicated Facility Free
of: Gluten, Wheat, Soy, Corn, Potato, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Dairy, and Casein”
**NaSoya Tofu- Silken – 8oz.
***Bertolli Extra Light Olive Oil- ¼ cup

P.S. Flavor’s great …might add a bit of Agave Nectar  as a sweetener( my
newest baking buddy) or honey next time as they could be sweeter if your
personal taste leans that way… but they don’t NEED it. Stick with muffins for
now however as my lovely little twin loaves failed my test.
They have not baked through. Temperature and baking time adjustments should help
with the added extra moisture and I didn’t figure that in correctly, but for now
I’ll be off to the store for another Namaste’ Muffin mix. These are no doubt an
excellent product base for lots of good baking ideas to come. The JOY in baking
is having fun like this…tasting good is the goal as nothing is ever a flop, even
if it doesn’t look so good.

Here’s to better baking…
Carol