Quarantine Eating

So what have you been cooking for the pandemic?  It's clear that I gravitate to the kitchen and cooking for stress relief, but not sure that's it a net benefit considering how stressful grocery shopping has been.  Seeing empty shelves is kind of scary (on top of the risk of being out in public).  Plus we have been getting a good portion of our food delivered, mostly though Amazon Fresh, which is frustrating trying to find things in stock and getting delivery slots. But I have filled my freezer with plenty of soups and stews "just in case" and doing a better job that normal at using up all of the things in the corner of the pantry and bottom of the freezer. 

I am grateful for so many things ... so far my friends and family are all healthy, we have a nice house, live someplace where we can get out for walks and runs, great neighbors, technology that lets us get together virtually.    Now if it would just stop raining!

Some of what I have been cooking ... some new recipes and some old: 

 A new recipe, Pasta with Chickpeas  from Melissa Clark at the NYT cooking.

This one is destined to become a favorite.  I pretty much followed the recipe, although I only had a half bunch of parsley.  I did use fresh cooked chickpeas ... my neighbor had a couple of pounds in the back of her pantry that were "at least" a couple of years old and was unsure how to cook, so I volunteered to cook in my pressure cooker...  I soaked them for 12 hours and cooked for 12 minutes in the pressure cooker and they were great. I'm grateful for great neighbors! Of course I haven't seen dry chickpeas in the stores, but the local store here is starting to get canned ones again.

I also found a tart crust recipe I like. What's great about this is that you can just bake off one small tart and save the dough for later. I have not tried the filling in this recipe, the filling was a freezer discovery, some lemon curd that I made year, topped with some Greek yogurt and chocolate chips. I sometimes make things and put them into the freezer for a rainy day.  We had over 3 1/2 inches of rain last week, so that counts as a rainy day! 

I have been getting what are essentially CSA boxes from my favorite farmer at the Farmers market.. including lots of beets.   

My try at Pickled Beets was successful.
There have been lots of meals with green incorporated in them...

Like Curried Lentils (this is with beet greens). I was able to get lentils last week at the local store, and this recipe will work with green lentils too, its just not as pretty. And Spinach Swiss Chard Crusted Quiche with Fennel and Sausage.  In a stroke of genius, I oven roasted the fennel, onion, and sausage in the filling on a sheet pan (at the same time as cooking the crust) .. one less skillet to wash and less total time.  

And we have not had to sacrifice our lunch salads..   And in case you think every meal is all healthy and green like this, the salad is incorporating some left-over take-out fried chicken from a local restaurant (doing our part to support local business...).

There are also lots of meals with wheat and cheese ... 

Like pizza (I have been experimenting with a no-knead crust) and Macaroni and Cheese.


Also in the comfort food category was Meatloaf.    And the mini-loaf I froze came out great.  I thawed in a bowl of cold water (took about an hour), then it needed to bake for about 45 minutes. 

Plus some simple dinners, like a loaded baked sweet potato and the quesadillas  pictured with the beets. 

And the normal...Foil Grilled Fish, (using up some fish a neighbor gave us last fall)  Stir fry,  and "Whatever" Pasta. 

  
I've also been experimenting with no-knead bread ... but that's another post.   Stay well, and let me know how you are doing!

Meat Loaf

I don't know about everyone else, but I certainly am doing more cooking as we do our part to control the coronavirus by staying home, including pulling out some recipes I haven't  made in a long time.  And when I made this meatloaf, I didn't think to take pictures of it going together.  I just got the one picture I used in my last post.  And I was going to take a picture of the sandwich, but remembered when I was just down to crumbs on the plate.  But it was a good looking plate. 

Meatloaf is one of those foods I don't make often... in part because we don't eat that much meat, and when we do, we tend to do something quick (like grill some steaks or fish), or something that is more soupy, like stew or beans with ham or sausage.  The meatloaf I grew up with was the one on the back of the Quaker Oatmeal box.   It uses oats to stretch the meat instead of breadcrumbs (which i think is more common), which gives a nice bit of fiber.  Milk is added for moisture (and any kind of milk or unsweet alternate milk would work, also guess plain yogurt would work just fine too).  Something to enhance the unami gives a better depth of flavor ... I usually use fish sauce, but Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce would do the same thing.  The egg helps bind everything together.  You can use any kind of ground meat, although my husband commented that the one I made was better than he remembered, it might have been because I used good hamburger from our local store rather than ground turkey which I was I had used in the (long) past.  I also used some nice spicy Italian sausage (and if you don't want any spice, a sweet Italian or breakfast sausage will work too).  Catsup is used as a glaze (some recipes actually call for catsup in the loaf, which I think would be just awful sweet), and a bit of bacon makes for a nice touch.

And while I am hoping for the best, I am also trying to boost the reserves soups and stews in my freezer.  It seems that we are starting to get past the shortages in the grocery store, and the farmers markets are currently open in California. Plus, as least here, we have many take-out options available.  So this is not from fear of not being able to get food.  Its more about being prepared to actually get the virus. While we read about the dire situations in Italy, Spain, and New York and shortages of ICU beds, the majority of people who get this are able to stay at home and get through it. Having some things that are easy cook (thaw and heat easy) and comforting to eat seems smart.   So when I made this meatloaf, I doubled the recipe.  I cooked half, I split the other half into 2 loaves and put those in the freezer.  I put into the smaller loaves so they would thaw a freeze and cook faster... but now wondering if that was a mistake, because there won't be enough leftovers for sandwiches, which might be the best way to eat meatloaf.    And since I have no idea how long it will take to cook the smaller loaves, I will just use my trusty Thermapen to tell me when it's done. 

Meat Loaf

About 4 servings

2/3 cups oats
½ cup milk
½ onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon garlic salt (or a ½ teaspoon of salt and minced clove of garlic)
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or Fish Sauce or Soy Sauce
1 egg, beaten
1 pound ground meat – hamburger,  turkey, venison
¼ to ½ lb spicy bulk sausage – use the higher amount if ground meat is lean

catsup
parsley
bacon (2 slices or so)

Heat oven to 350F.  Use convection if you have it.

Add the first group of ingredients in order to a medium bowl (it’s good for the oats to soak a bit in the milk).  Mix together (hands work best for this). Pat mixture so it is level in the bowl, then turn into a baking dish (like a 9x9 inch pan).  Put catsup on top and rub some on the sides, and garnish with parsley and bacon.

Bake for about an hour or so (a little less if using convection), center should be at 160F.   Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Is It Done Yet?

I started writing this a while back... never imagining that we would all be doing a lot more cooking at home.  So it seems a good time to put out this post on a way to help make results of home cooking more predictable and safe!   Also ... if anyone has questions on cooking, don't hesitate to shoot me a question (call, text message, or FB messenger).   Based on what I see sold out at the grocery stores, I imagine that a lot of people have some strange combinations of food in their kitchens. I'm here if you have questions on cooking beans or anything else!  And now that I seem to have some time on my hands, I will try to get some more recipes posted (including above meatloaf).

The people that read my blog (I think its my mom and 2 friends) know that my background is engineering, and that I can geek out on the science of cooking.   The chemical changes that food undergoes as you heat it (otherwise known as cooking) fascinates me.   And there just so happens to be a useful metric to know when things are cooked... it's temperature!  The best way to tell if things are done on the inside (especially big dense things, like meatloaf, roasts or turkeys) is to take the temperature with a thermometer. I think the best thermometer available is the Thermopen (and no, they are not sponsoring me). The Thermopen's read much faster than others on the market, so you can move through something like a steak and find the coolest spot in the center.  Go directly to the Thermoworks website to get one,  not Amazon.

Temperature is widely used to determine doneness of meat ... rare, medium rare, well all correspond to a temperature range.  While you can determine doneness on thinner cuts of meat by pressing to see how firm it is, this is more challenging to do on thicker cuts of steak or roasts... Plus it takes a lot of practice and experience to be good at it.  You can also use temperature to know if a casserole is cooked (and hot enough to safe), to tell if bread is done, as well as jams or candy.   Temperature is also handy for fish like salmon or tuna that you don't want fully cooked to the "flakes easily" (and dried out) stage.   Here is a handy dandy table with all the temperatures I use ... it's in the latest update of my cookbook.    Here you go...

IS IT DONE?

These are the final temperatures that you want; remove from heat 5°F lower than desired temperature as the temperature will come up as it rests. And if there is a tiny cold spot, it will warm up even more as the heat will continue to distribute. 

Beef / Lamb: Rare                 120 – 130 °F (49-54°C)
Roasts, steaks, Medium Rare   130 – 135 °F (54-57°C)
Chops Medium            135-145°F   (57-63°C)
                                Medium Well    145-155 oF (63-68°C)

Pork: Medium                        140 °F 
Roast, chops Medium Well (USDA)   145 °F   (63°C)
Pre-cooked ham Hot                               140 °F (60°C)
Raw ham                 Done                            160 °F (71°C)

BBQ:
Brisket, Ribs, Pork Butt Done                185 °F (85°C)

Ground meat:
Hamburger, sausage Done (USDA) 160 °F (71°C)
Meatloaf

Chicken/Turkey: UDSA                165 °F (74°C)
White meat Done                 155 °F
Dark meat Done                 165 °F (74°C)
Stuffing in bird Done                 165 °F (74°C)

Duck: 
Dark meat Done 160°F +
Breast meat Medium - Rare    135°F
                                            Well                    150°F

Fish:                                       Fully cooked 140 °F
Halibut Medium 130 °F
Salmon                                 Medium Rare    125 °F
Tuna (rare) Rare 115°F (or less)

Casseroles: 165 °F (74°C) - 175°F

Egg Dishes:
Quiche 160°F (71°C) or higher depending on fillings
Hollandaise Sauce 145-150°F
Custards                              175-180°F

Yogurt:   Heat milk to 180°F for 2 minutes, cool to 110°F to add yogurt starter.
 
Bread and baked goods: Should also be appropriately brown on the outside
Rich Dough                         190-200°F (88-93°C)
Lean Dough  200-210°F (93-99°C)
Water temp to add yeast       105-115°F (41-46°C)
Cake                                   205-210°F
Molten Chocolate Cake         160°F
Fruit Pies                             175°F

Candy:
Jam                     217-222°F (103-106°C)  Subtract 2°F for every 1000 feet of elevation
Thread 230-234°F (110-112°C) Syrup
Soft Ball               234-240°F (112-116°C) Fondant, Fudge & Pralines
Firm Ball              244-248°F (118-120°C) Caramels
Hard Ball 250-266°F (121-130°C) Divinity & Nougat
Soft Crack 270-290°F (132-143°C) Taffy
Hard Crack 300-310°F (149-154°C) Brittles, Lollipops & Hardtack
Caramel              320-350°F (160-177°C) Flan & Caramel Cages

Pressure Cooker Beef Stew

Merry Christmas!  Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.   Also ... for those of you with my cookbook ... I am in the process of doing an update which includes my pressure cooker recipes (some that I have posted here, some that I haven't).  Drop me a line if you want one!



One of the things the pressure cooker excels at is cooking chuck roast... everytime I have cooked various recipes, the meat always comes out flavorful and tender.  I am not going to promote this recipe as "easy" ... even though I have simplified it from the "weeknight stew" recipe I used for inspiration, or quick ... even though it probably does cut an hour off the time it would take to cook on the stove.  But this does make a really, really good stew.  Serve to company good stew.

I took inspiration for this recipe from Serious Eats Pressure Cooker American Beef Stew, but short-cutted a couple of steps.   It could possibly be even better if you did the extra steps, but I'm happy with how this comes out. A couple of the key items I did keep in is adding gelatin to the store bought broth (if you had some great homemade chicken broth, you could skip this), as well as adding some high umami ingredients, like soy sauce, fish or Worcestershire sauce (the recipe calls for both, but I don't keep Worcestershire sauce in my pantry).   I also shortened the cooking time... I have found that a lot of the Serious Eats pressure cooker times are just way too long for the Breville pressure cooker.  I think the Breville's cook at a bit higher pressure, so if you are using a Instant Pot, look at the manual on their recommended cooking times.  And let me know how it works and I will update the recipe for both types of cookers!


On the beef:  you really want to use chuck roast (or chuck steaks).  Don't buy stew meat, this is often a mix of miscellaneous small bits of meat, that doesn't have the fat and tough connective tissue that nicely breaks down into tender meat under pressure. One of the twists on this recipe is doing the browning of the meat while in steak form, as it keeps from drying out the meat while still getting the nice brown flavor.

And one last note:  if you like to just have stew for 2, make a batch of the meat but instead of adding the potatoes and carrots, cool down the pot, then split the meat and gravy into 3 1 quart containers (or freezer zip lock bags).   Refrigerate (to store for a couple of days) or freeze each of these.  When you are ready for stew, put the mixture (thaw first if frozen) into a medium pot.  Add a couple of chopped potatoes and carrots, cook on the stovetop until the potatoes and carrots are done (about 45 minutes).  That is a quick and easy meal!

Beef Stew

Serves 5-6… I usually figure about 1/2 pound of meat per person.  

2 - 3 lb beef chuck roast
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons oil or fat (like olive oil)
Generous ¼ cup flour

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 packets powdered unflavored gelatin (1 ounce)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce or Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
1 teaspoon dry or fresh thyme or other herb (rosemary, oregano, Italian herbs)

8 ounces mushrooms (brown cremini or white button), quartered
1 large onion, chopped
2 - 3 ribs celery, sliced 
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup wine (white or red, or use more broth)

6 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 - 6 potatoes, cubed (peel if desired)
More fresh herbs (parsley, etc.)

Cut meat into steak-like pieces, each 1 to 1 ½ inches thick.  Salt the meat.  Heat the oil in pressure cooker using sear function.  Brown each side of the meat (do in single layer batches), and place on large plate to cool.   Meanwhile, mix the broth, gelatin, sauces and thyme in a large measuring cup.  If you would like, heat a bit in the microwave to get to pressure quicker. Set aside.  

Put mushrooms, onions, celery, and garlic into the hot cooker.  Add salt and pepper.  Let cook until onions are translucent.   Add wine; scrape any bits from the bottom.  Let the wine cook down by half.   

Cut the meat into 1 – 1 ½ inch cubes, removing any large chunks of fat.  Toss with flour.  Add the meat to the pot then then add the broth mixture.  Pressure cook using the “chili and stew” setting for 20 minutes (10.5psi, quick pressure release).   When complete, add carrots and potatoes then use “vegetable” setting for 8 minutes (7.5psi, pulse pressure release).  Serve with additional fresh herbs.

Pressure Cooker Chicken

Still trying to figure out what to cook in the pressure cooker you got last Christmas? Or decide if this is the year your get one?   I've had one for a couple of years, and here are my inputs:

• They take up a considerable amount of storage space, and are a pain to assemble and clean.
• They do a few things very well:  broth, braised meats, beans.  This includes many soups, stews, and chili.  They do a good job on rice, although I'm guessing a rice cooker does a better job. 
• They can operate unattended.  I have really come to appreciate this feature.
• I have a Breville, not the more popular Instapot.  Most recipes are written for Instapots, and my guess is the Breville operates at a bit higher pressure, so it cooks faster.  A good thing, except you have to be prepared to adjust cooking times.  Fortunately the Breville manual provides a good reference.   With either version, there is some guess work... you can't just check every so often to see if things are done, you have to wait until the cycle is complete. 

I routinely use the pressure cooker to cook chicken meat  .. not a whole meal, just chicken to go into a variety of things, like salad, or sandwiches, or a queso, plus a bonus bit of stock. I don't make homemade broth often, but when I do, I use the pressure cooker.  Good homemade broth is essential for risotto, and turkey stock is essential for Thanksgiving dinner.

Chicken legs cooked in the pressure cooker come out as shredded meat, which suits me just fine in most things that call for cooked, diced chicken breasts.   I normally just do one package of 4-5 chicken legs, but have done up to 3 packages.   It's not necessary to add more water for more legs, but you can if you want extra broth.  This also makes great taco meat... in which case I add some chili and cumin to the cooker.

Chicken Meat

Total cooker time ~ 45 minutes for one package of chicken.

1 – 4 pounds chicken legs and/or thighs (with bones and skin) 
½ onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot (optional), coarsely chopped
1 stalk of celery (optional), coarsely chopped
Salt (about ½ teaspoon), pepper to taste
1 cup of water (can add a another cup of water if you want more broth)

Place everything in the cooker.   Pressure cook on the Poultry setting, (9 PSI, auto-pulse release) for 18-20 minutes.   When complete, remove chicken to cool.   Strain broth and let cool.   When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the chicken from the bones and shred, taking care to pull out and tendons and cartilage.    Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Chicken for Taco’s: 

Follow above recipe, but omit the carrot and celery.   Add a teaspoon or two of cumin, plus a teaspoon or two of chili powder (how much really depends on how hot the chili power is, how much chicken, and how spicy you like your food).    After shredding the chicken, refrigerate if not using immediately.  To serve, reheat, adding back enough broth to moisten.  

The pressure cooker is a big time saver for broth.  Even with the heat up and cool down, its under 2 hours, which no effort to find a "low simmer".  And the broth comes out really nicely gelled.  One of the keys to good broth is lots of bones relative the the amount of water... you should just cover the bones and vegetables with water.    This broth is the same recipe I published a few years ago, just cooked in the pressure cooker.

Chicken Broth

Chicken (or turkey) Backs, necks, giblets (from 1 or 2 chickens)...  optional: include the skin (I do)
and/or  Roast chicken carcass (Again, 1 - 2 chickens worth)
1 large carrot, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced (optional)
A sprig or two of parsley (optional)
1 to 1 1/2 quarts of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Put everything in a pressure cooker (no need to thaw chicken parts if they are frozen).  Add just enough water to cover. Pressure cook using the Stock function (1 hour, high pressure). When done, using tongs, pull out the big chunks and discard.  Strain the remainder into a large bowl.   You can either use the broth right away (and I don't bother to skim the fat), or chill.  The best way to rapidly cool is to put the bowl in a sink of cold water (adding ice makes it quicker).  When down to room temperature, cover the bowl and into the fridge. After its cold, skim the fat (which can be used to to saute some potatoes or fry eggs). The broth will gel up when its cold. Store up to 3 days in the fridge, or to freeze, put broth (in 2-4 cup quantities) in 1 quart freezer ziploc's. 

New Toy: Breville Pressure Cooker

Did you get a pressure cooker for Christmas?   I got one last year, and still have mixed feelings.   It is a pain to get out, set-up, and clean, but it does a few things very well:

1. Make broth.   You get broths that are full of gelatin in about 2 hours.
2. Braise meats, especially chuck roast for barbacoa or stew.  Also handy to cook up chicken legs.
3. Hard cook eggs, because they peel easy.   Every time.
4. Cook beans... just be aware there is a lot of variation in cooking time.
5. Cook grains, although I haven't played with this much. 

The biggest misconception about the pressure cookers is that they will get dinner on the table quickly.  Just because the cooking time for beans might be 10 minutes, that doesn't mean dinner will be on the table in a half hour.   To cook a pot (1 lb) of beans, it takes a 25 minutes or so to get up to pressure, 20 minutes to cook, then at least another 45 plus minutes to depressurize... all of the sudden, you are looking at an hour and a half, which is about how long it takes to cook beans on the stove.  The advantage is that its totally hands off cooking, no waiting for it to come to a boil, turning down to simmer and on my stove, getting frustrated because you can't maintain a slow simmer.  And sometimes you can depressurize more quickly, although this is not recommended for beans, or anything that might have a layer of fat on top (like braised meat).

One other thing I'm still working on is the cooking time.  Most recipes have cooking times that are just too long.    I have a Breville Fast-Slow Pro, not an Instapot like everyone else, I am guessing that it runs a bit higher pressure.  The good thing is the preset times are generally pretty good and help make a good guess to start, but beans are still a challenge.   The best reference I have found so far to cook beans is this page from Rancho Gordo...  it really gives you a feel on how different the times are for soaked vs. unsoaked, and for different varieties of beans.

I made this a couple of nights ago... and was really happy with the result.  Soaking the beans allows the beans to cook in the same time as the squash.  Seemed the perfect dish after all of the holiday meals. 

Winter Squash, Lima Bean and Kielbasa Soup (Firecooked)

This is a take on my beans and greens soup.  It comes out quite well in the pressure cooker, and this combination makes a very pretty soup.  If you don’t have a pressure cooker, it will cook just fine on the stove.

1 pound dry white lima beans

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cubed

12 ounces smoked kielbasa, sliced (about ½” slices)

Pinch of red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 quart chicken broth

2 cups water

1 bunch collard greens, de-stemmed and chopped

Rinse the beans in a colander, then put into a large pot and cover (by a couple of inches) with water.  I use the cooking pot to do the soaking as to not get another bowl dirty.  They should soak at least 6 hours, but not more than 10 or so.  Drain the beans when ready to start the soup. 

In a pressure cooker, heat the oil on the sauté Setting.  Add onion, carrots, garlic.  Add the squash and Kielbasa as you get them chopped.  Add a bit of salt (the sausage is usually quite salty, so you don’t need much more) and the red pepper flakes.   When onions are translucent add the drained beans, broth and water.  Beans should be covered by a ½ inch or so of liquid.   Set to pressure cook using the bean setting (high pressure) for 5 minutes, and natural release (total cooking time on my cooker is about 1 hour 15 minutes).*  Check to make sure the beans are done, and the salt level is ok. Cook longer if needed.  Add the chopped greens.  Put on sauté function to bring back to a boil, turn off and let the greens cook for about 5 minutes.    Serve with a bit of black pepper.

* If you don’t have a pressure cooker, just simmer on the stove.  Guessing it will take about 1 ½ hours.. start checking after the first hour. 

Banana Bread

We eat lots of bananas at our house, but even so, we sometimes get caught with too many, and I need to find a way to use them up.  And people that know me, understand that I occasionally end up with bananas that have flown an extra 1000 miles or so. 

The overripe bananas usually get used in Sunday morning muffins (which is another recipe I need to add to the blog). But I consider muffins something eaten before noon, not dessert.   For dessert, I make this. Still, it's not too sweet, and great for snacks, or to take sailing, or to a potluck.  





It's also easy to make.  "Easy" is a bit relative.  What might be easy for me, it more challenging for you.  But this is certainly easier to make than most desserts, and quicker to mix up than the muffins I normally make.  One of the things that makes this easy is mixing the wet ingredients with an immersion blender. (And if you don't have an immersion blender, you should get one). So one blender cup, one mixing bowl.  No food processor, or other tools or bowls to mash bananas. 







Another thing that makes a recipe easy is a recipe that uses ingredients I already have.  Face it, I didn't plan for too many bananas.  So I haven't planned for anything special for baking them (of course, I assume everyone has flour, baking powder, soda, and eggs...).  And these type of quick bread recipes are not too fussy.  It will still come out good even if you make a few substitutions to use up what you happen to have in the house.  For example, I made this at my mom's...  she didn't have any whole wheat flour, so I used all regular flour.  No plain vegetable oil, so I used olive oil.   No buttermilk, so I used Greek yogurt thinned with a bit of milk.  Don't like any of the cultured milks? Any milk-like substance (soy milk, etc) will work.  It might taste a little different, but it will be good.  It will come out fine without the vanilla extract. In fact, the recipe that I used for inspiration called for oats (which was fine, but I didn't really like the texture), and no add-ins (like chocolate chips or walnuts).   One last tip:  when the bananas hit that speckled ripe stage, toss them into the refrigerator (this would be before the overripe all brown stage).  The skins will get dark, but the bananas will still be good for making bread for another week or so. 

  



Banana Bread

2 cups flour (I like best with half white whole wheat and half all purpose)
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
------------------------------------
2 medium ripe bananas cut into quarters
2 eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt*
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or olive oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-------------------------------------
½ cup chocolate chips

* If Greek yogurt, use a couple of spoonful’s of yogurt plus milk to make 1/3 cup.

Preheat oven to 350F.   Grease and flour a loaf pan.

Put the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and stir to mix.

Put banana, eggs, milk/yogurt, oil, and extract in mixing cup of immersion blender, or in 1 quart measuring glass measuring cup.  Blend until mostly smooth  (don’t over blend, you don’t want a lot of air mixed in). 

Pour wet into dry, stir a bit, add the chocolate chips, finish mixing together.  Don’t stir too much.   Scrape batter into the prepared loaf pan. 

Bake for 55 – 60 minutes, until nicely brown and skewer comes out clean (you can also check with a thermometer, looking for 195 -200F)  .  Run a knife around the edge, and then turn onto cooling rack.   Let cool at least 10 minutes before slicing (an hour is better).   Once cooled, wrap loaf and store in refrigerator. 

And this is of one of my recent platters...  colored porcelain inlaid on dark stoneware.