Chris's Week Thirty-Six Recipe: Chocolate Banana Bread

Three over-ripe bananas nestled in my kitchen basket next to a couple of winter squash. As I walked past, they cast up a slightly reproachful glance as if to say, "You're going to throw us away, aren't you?"

Heaven forfend! Doing a quick search, I came up with this recipe for chocolate banana bread. I halved the recipe and gave it the usual 'slightly healthier' tweaks like olive oil instead of margarine, turbinado instead of white sugar, and whole wheat instead of all-purpose flour.

What's that? I forgot to cut the amount of cocoa powder in half? No, I didn't forget....

Chocolate Banana Bread

6 T olive oil

1 c turbinado sugar

2 eggs

3 bananas, mashed

1 t vanilla

1.5 c whole wheat flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 c cocoa powder

1/2 c yogurt

1 c walnut halves

Beat the eggs and mix in the olive oil, vanilla, sugar and bananas. Fold in the dry ingredients, then mix in the yogurt and walnuts. Bake at 350F for 50 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Would I make this recipe again? Definitely! The original recipe calls for chocolate chips instead of walnuts, but I like the crunch of the nuts. If you're making this for my mother, don't forget to chop the nuts first!