Market Life

 Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread - Yum! 

aka: Cooking with Adrienne - Round 2 :)

Sometimes when I am in the mood to bake something I realize just how fortunate I am to have Eastern Market a short walk away. It always seems that one of the ingredients I lack is butter or eggs. Fortunately, Bowers Fancy Dairy Shop inside the market has both of those ingredients.

With Halloween just over a week away I have pumpkins on my mind…and with that, I decided to bake pumpkin chocolate chip bread. I received the recipe from a former colleague and, over time, have adjusted it, adding more cinnamon and nutmeg while withholding the glaze frosting.

Since this recipe calls for both butter and eggs, I had to make a trip to the store.  If you are anything like me, you will not want to get in your car and loose your parking spot to drive over to Harris Teeter to fight the weekend crowds. This is why I love the market: I can walk over, get what I actually need and be home within 20 minutes.

Bowers' Cheese Shop is one of my favorite merchants inside the market because their salespeople are super friendly and always attentive; as a bonus, they hand out cheese samples! The cheese selection is amazing and worth an entire post on its own.  While asking for butter and eggs, the sales woman asked me if I needed to sample any cheese and suggested the Sage Derby cheese…which she also mentioned is very popular around Thanksgiving time. I definitely plan on going back to buy the Sage Derby cheese in the very near future. Anyways,  after she rang me up for the butter and eggs (note, they do not accept credit or debit…but there is an ATM around the corner if you need cash!) I was back home and mixing up the pumpkin chocolate chip bread.

This loaf of bread would be great for a hostess gift or as a treat for a Halloween party. I, however, chose to snack on it while watching college football on Saturday with my roommate.  If you love pumpkin flavored foods and are a fan of chocolate, you will likely enjoy this bread. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 c flour

1/2 c unsalted butter

1 tsp baking soda

1 c white sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

3/4 c pumpkin

1 c chocolate chips, I used semi sweet

Directions

1. Spray loaf pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Sift together flour, baking soda, spices

3. Cream butter and sugar in mixing bowl

4. Add vanilla and eggs to sugar and butter mixture and beat well

5. At a low speed alternately add dry ingredients to the mixture with the pumpkin

6. Stir in chocolate chips

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-70 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean

photo credit - http://www.dcfoodies.com/2007/10/bowers-fancy-da.html and Adrienne :)