Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup oil
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/3 cup sugar
7 tbsp cocoa powder
3 eggs
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp instant coffee powder
5 ripe bananas (well mashed)
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer, beat together the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended.
4. Add the coffee powder and the well mashed bananas.
5. Add the flour mixture in thirds, beating only until well blended after each addition. Don't over-beat!
6. Stir in the chocolate chips.
7. Pour the batter into a VERY WELL GREASED 9" x 5" loaf tin.*
8. Bake on the middle rack of the oven. The 9" x 5" tin will take 70-80 minutes, a small tin 45-50 minutes. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
9. Remove from the oven, cool bread in the pan(s) 5 minutes. Remove from the pan(s) and complete cooling on a wire rack.

* If the bananas are large, there may be some leftover batter, which can be baked in a small loaf tin.

If you have the patience, let the bread sit overnight for the flavor to develop! I got this recipe from my friend Dustin. He's a wonderful baker, and this is one of his best dishes.

Sour Cream French Toast

3 eggs
3 tbsp sour cream
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch salt
8 slices bread
butter for frying

1. Beat eggs, and add sour cream, water, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Beat until you can no longer see sour cream chunks.
2. Pour the batter into a shallow dish.
3. Heat small pat of butter on medium heat.
4. Place a slice of bread in the batter. Quickly turn over in batter.
5. Fry toast, turning once, until browned on both sides.
6. Repeat, adding a small amount of butter each time, until batter and bread are exhausted.

I came up with this recipe when I'd already beaten eggs for french toast and found myself out of milk. My husband asked that I use this as my standard recipe, because he likes the "bite" the sour cream adds to the dish. I like to put a plate in my oven, set the oven to the lowest setting, and place the cooked toast in the oven to keep it warm while I finish the batch.