I said I’d written my last blog about our vacation, but just one more mention of it and I’m done. I promise. The snow covering my daffodils last week made me think back to the warmer climes and tropical sounds of Cabo Pulmo, and while looking at my photos I remembered we had a banana issue. As in too many.

You’ll be rationalizing a reason to eat it for breakfast, I guarantee it.

Melissa and I overestimated our banana usage, and there were 5 or 6 overripe ones in the fridge on the day I drove her to the airport. I picked up some additional less ripe ones at the grocery store for Steve, but knew I had to do something with the overripe ones when we got back to the house. I’m not a banana bread fan and I don’t much like banana flavorings in things, so I needed to do something that would taste like fresh banana, but without making a gallon of smoothies to use them up. So I looked at our larder for other ingredients and decided on a banana and chocolate bread pudding.

Most households have bread pudding ingredients: bread, eggs, milk or cream (I used up Melissa’s half & half in mine), sugar, and vanilla. The nice thing about bread pudding is you can throw whatever else you happen to have around in it, too. Canned pumpkin is a good one, with brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Dried cherries, raisins or cranberries work well. Chocolate is ALWAYS a good choice. And if you’re out of vanilla a bit of bourbon or rum works in its stead. Or give whoever’s eating it a little rum or bourbon first and they’ll never know the difference. And you can be loosey-goosey with quantities and it will still be good.

Banana Chocolate Bread Pudding

5 eggs, beaten

½ c. sugar

1 c. milk, cream or half & half

6 slices of bread (white, wheat, challah, French or multi-grain) torn in pieces

4-6 ripe (or overripe) bananas with any dark spots removed, sliced

1 tsp. vanilla (or a splash of bourbon or rum)

5-6 oz. of dark chocolate in chunks

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease an 8” square ban with butter or spray with Pam.

Beat the eggs, sugar, milk (or cream or half & half) and vanilla (or rum or bourbon) in a medium bowl. Add bread and fold into the egg mixture. Let sit for a few minutes. Fold in the bananas. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and stud the pudding with the chocolate chunks. Bake for 30 minutes or until browned and the pudding is set (a knife inserted into the center should come out fairly clean). Watch it while baking as the oven we used ran very hot, yours may take a bit longer time.

Let it sit to cool slightly. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream or whipped cream.

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You’ll be rationalizing a reason to eat it for breakfast, I guarantee it.

Deborah