Banana Chocolate Chip Bread that I didn't screw up

When my daughter was born, the amazing woman who took my son in a pinch (contractions were about a minute apart when I left the house) made some banana chocolate chip bread that I devoured after delivery.

The memory of that bread has haunted me.

I finally got around to attempting it myself. I couldn't get a hold of her to compare recipes, so I went with Rachael Ray's version and modified it. On other sites, users mentioned adding milk, lemon juice and vanilla. And I added a little baking powder for good measure. And I cut down on the sugar and chocolate chips.

So I modified it a lot.

No baker, I'm always surprised when something I have to put in the oven actually turns out. It's excellent.

Here's the recipe and here's the link.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 bananas, mashed (1 cup mashed banana)
• 1 cup chocolate chips

PREPARATION

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F .

Grease and flour a 8 1/2-inch x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan (or use baking spray, such as Baker's Joy brand).

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix in the oil, bananas and eggs. Stir in the chocolate chips (do not overmix!) and pour into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 70-80 minutes.

Cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely, right side up.