Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

On Saturday morning my parents returned from a two week trip to Chile and Peru, which meant for two glorious weeks I had the whole house to myself! Last year they took a similar trip, but at the time I didn't appreciate that independence and found myself wallowing in loneliness...not so fun. This year I went into those two weeks with a whole new attitude, thinking of it as my two weeks of freedom, able to do whatever I want, whenever I want, wherever I want, and not have to report to anyone about it! One of the best things about having the house to myself, was how much it motivated me to cook and bake more. I felt much more relaxed in the kitchen, able to experiment, try out some new recipes, not have to worry about everyones timing, and not have to worry about making any mistakes (after all, if it's just me seeing the mistake...it didn't happen and doesn't count). Another great thing about cooking and baking with the house to yourself, is that no one has to see just how much you ate...which in my case, was a hell of a lot...an embarrassing amount in fact.

Before going absolutely food crazy and bingeing on everything in the house, I started off my two weeks quite sensibly. I would start each day with a fresh banana smoothie, and carry on having healthy meals and snacks throughout the day. I ran into a bit of an issue when I ran out of bananas. Long story short, I ended up buying two bunches of bananas, one that I thought would never ripen, and one that I totally destroyed carrying on the way home (the bruise-covered bananas looked like they had just stepped out of a boxing ring), which resulted in a kitchen that looked like a monkey lived in it. I had more bananas than I could handle and needed to use up as many as I could fast. Chocolate Chip Banana Bread was definitely the best option! Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is one of those incredibly addicting foods, where you can't have just one slice, you have got to go back for more. I always carefully monitor how much I eat when my parents are home so I'm not hogging all the bread for myself, and not looking like a piggie to them, so you can imagine how excited I was knowing that I could eat as much as I want without anyone there to stop me! This is a very dangerous idea to enter my brain, as I proceeded to eat the entire loaf myself within a mere 3 days (minus one small final piece that I offered my dad when he came home). Feel free to tell me I'm disgusting! Go ahead, I deserve it...but that doesn't mean I regret it! I loved every bite of that delicious, moist, chocolate speckled banana bread and I know you will too...but for the sake of your health, please share!

Tip: If you want to make this banana bread healthier, omit the chocolate chips, but you've gotta be crazy to do such a thing!

Ingredients:

3 very ripe bananas

1 cup sugar

3 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

1/4 cup oil

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, add 1 tsp lemon juice plus milk to equal 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a food processor, process bananas until pureed. Add the sugar, baking soda, and salt, and process for about 30 seconds.

2. Add the eggs and oil and process until blended. Add the flour and buttermilk and process until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips.

3. Line a 9 x 5 baking loaf with parchment paper or tin foil. Pour in the batter and bake in a 275º oven for 2 1/2 hours, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean.

Listening To:

Maximum Balloon - Groove Me (Feat. Theophilus London)

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