Warm, fragrant, the fresh baked indulgence of Chocolate chip banana bread

April Showers Bring… Banana Bread?

With spring in the air, I’m just waiting for those April showers to make their appearance. We need them for the May flowers, after all. And on those wet, dreary days that pop up here and there, my mind always wanders to one thing: treats.

Strawberry crêpes? Tempting.
Chocolate cupcakes? Chocolate is good anytime.
Blueberry muffins? Always a favorite.
Carrot‑cake‑everything? I’ve been seeing recipes everywhere lately, and I love carrot cake… but that’s not quite what I’m craving either.

Then it hit me.

Banana bread.
But not just any banana bread — Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.

It’s been a while since I made this recipe, and I already know I’m going to enjoy every slice.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients

3 bananas
1 stick of butter
2 eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all‑purpose flour
½ cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° and spray the bottom of a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray.
Peel and mash the bananas until almost smooth.
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the bananas, melted butter, eggs, sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla.
Add the flour, chocolate chips, baking soda, salt, and optional walnuts. Stir just until the flour is moistened, then add to your prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and cool for at least 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges, then transfer the loaf to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Note

The bread slices much more cleanly once it has cooled completely — if you can wait that long.

Doesn’t it smell amazing? And it comes out so beautifully every time. I hope you enjoy a slice or two as much as I do.

That plane was one of the smallest I’ve been on in a long time. 2 seats on each side of the aisle. No wonder they had to put the roller bags in cargo! But in spite of it all the flight was smooth and uneventful (boring). I tried to grab a few ZZZ’s but having bun on the back of your head makes it kind of hard to get comfortable.

The first leg was to Dulles in Washington DC. I had a layover there and a change of planes. It was a full house. In fact at first they thought they were going to have to “bump” someone. They were offering a $200 voucher toward a future flight. I volunteered along with one other lady but in the end they didn’t need either of us…but once again they wanted to check the roller bags..no charge. This time not because the bags were too big but because it was so crowded there wasn’t enough room. Once again I pulled out the lenses. In the process of unpacking again I lost my boarding pass.

Oh boy…Now I figured I was going to “get it” but no. One of the attendants saw me frantically searching and offered to print another one for me. I didn’t even have to ask! Either United is taking customer service to a new level or there’s something to this “dress the part”.

The plane touched down in Orlando just after 2pm to blue sky, fluffy clouds and 70 degrees. Perfect weather. Joe was already waiting so as soon as I grabbed my bags we were on our way.

Joe’s renting a cute little house 5 blocks from Eola Lake.

The house is set back behind the main house. The foliage makes it look like it’s in a jungle. There’s even Spanish Moss hanging from the trees.

Before we headed off to dinner we took a stroll around the lake.

Cypress knees

Dinner was at a little restaurant called Bananas. The thing that sets Bananas apart is the staff. From the hostess to the wait staff to the person cleaning up..all drag queens. The only times I’ve been exposed to Drag Queens they were wild. Not so here. The atmosphere was quiet and everyone was polite.

Time now to get a good night’s sleep before the drive to Miami in the morning.