• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-gree baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
  • 2 large bananas
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, optional

Last night our family enjoyed our dinner on our screened in porch out back. It is was so nice. After a crazy couple of weeks, everyone was home at the same time and even Amanda joined us for a nice meal around the table. The colorful low setting sun and the chill in the air was followed by a beautiful full moon overhead. All this made for a wonderful back drop to a bowl of comforting minestrone soup. It reminded me of Under the Stars, a heartwarming story in one of the chapters in my book, You Never Cook Alone. You can actually listen to an audio file of the chapter here.

This soup is one of our family’s favorites, but with this warm pumpkin banana chip loaf waiting for us, second helpings were turned down. I’m crazy for pumpkin and this time of year I pull out all of our family’s favorites. I try to create a few new recipes featuring the great pumpkin as well!

Everyone loved this pumpkin banana chip loaf. I used a very small amount of oil in this recipe becasue the buttermilk, pumpkin and banana all add moisture to the bread. It was so good! I can hardly wait for your make this for your family!

I asked everyone what they tasted most — the pumpkin or the banana. Half of us said pumpkin while the other half said banana!

I think the spices — the ginger, the cloves and the nutmeg were the best part of this moist bread!

Here’s how we made it:

In a large bowl whisk together, unbleached flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, soda, salt, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Add chocolate chips and toss to coat.

In another bowl, mash together pumpkin and banana with a fork. I like to have a few chunks of banana in my bread, so I prefer not to mash completely. Add the brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin, vanilla, buttermilk and oil. Beat well.

Add your dry mixture with the chocolate chips to the wet and stir just until combined.

Grease a loaf pan and pour batter into it. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until  a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.