Is there anything better than a sweet, crumbly and cinnamony streusel topping? A few weeks ago, I would have said no. Until I made this incredibly delicious banana coffee cake and added chocolate chips to an already amazing crumble. I absolutely adore banana bread, and I always have bananas on hand. Unfortunately, my bananas like to turn brown way faster than I can manage to eat them all, especially in the warmer months. It's just as well though, because overripe bananas mean it's time to do some baking and there's nothing wrong with that! But I have to say, as much as I love classic banana bread, I'm pretty tired of it. I wanted something new and interesting and an even better reason to convince myself that coffee cake is a perfectly acceptable breakfast food. Okay, so maybe this is way better as an afternoon indulgence or a sweet after dinner treat. It is VERY chocolately. Make sure to have some almond milk on hand. Or better yet, my Raw Vanilla Cashew Milk. There's nothing wrong with that either!
This is the crumb topping that I refused to put nuts in. Because that would ruin it. Unless you love nuts, in which case, add whatever you like and ignore what I said about it being ruined.
The batter is very thick and sticky, which is good because it will hold it's layers when you spread it into the pan.
How could you even resist this?? It has an amazing trio of flavors combining your favorite classic moist coffee cake with banana, chocolate and cinnamon. In fact, it has an almost 'Mexican Chocolate' flair to it, like a tall cup of Abuelita Hot Cocoa. Mmmmm.
Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Adapted from Epicurious.com Batter: 1 1/2 C all purpose flour 3/4 tsp. baking soda 3/4 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 C sugar 1 stick butter, softened 1 egg 3 bananas, overripe and mashed 3 T buttermilk
Butter and flour an 8 x 8 baking dish. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the egg, buttermilk and bananas. In a smaller bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir just until combined.
Streusel Topping: 1 1/4 C chocolate chips (I prefer semi-sweet) 2/3 C brown sugar 1/2 C whole oats 1 T cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix. Pour 1/2 of the coffee cake batter into the pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel over the batter. Carefully spread the remaining batter into the pan, and sprinkle evenly with the remaining streusel. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Or covered in melted chocolate.
Enjoy!
I always have cherry tomatoes on hand (unless there is something completely wrong with me) because they are my absolute favorite. They are always slightly sweet and juicy and they go well in everything from salad to spaghetti sauce. I also happen to have a new pot of basil that I'm nursing in my backyard and praying that the snails don't find. Growing herbs is a great way to give yourself multiple meal options as it opens up the variety of flavor profiles you can create. And a leftover tub of baby mozzarella balls gave me the idea to make a caprese salad. But seeing as I can have caprese salad anywhere, I decided to spice it up and make it a Roasted Caprese salad. Since I felt like the salad would need a little extra weight behind it to make it a meal, I added the rest of the whole wheat Israeli (or Pearl) Couscous I had in the pantry. Instant classic.
I coated the tomatoes in Olive Oil, salt, pepper, italian herbs, a little garlic and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Then I broiled them....
And they came out like this, perfectly charred and caramelized.
I chopped up the basil and sliced the mozzarella balls in half. You don't have to halve them, but I wanted more cheese throughout the salad.
And here it is, a perfect summertime meal that took about 15 minutes to prepare. I added a few slices of grilled chicken over the top because my basketball playing husband needed some extra protein, but this would make an awesome lunch or dinner just as it is. You should probably make extra. 
This Coconut Honeybush tea from One Love Tea is probably one of the best things I have ever tasted! It is a highly fragrant, slightly sweet tea that tastes so much like coconut, it's crazy. I've enjoyed it hot and cold and can't decide which I like better. Either way you choose, a little goes a long way and it brews in a super quick 1-3 minutes. If you can't get this unique tea close to you, order it online!
The Chile Boys from New Mexico make this AMAZING salsa verde using chiles grown on their grandfather's farm. This salsa is about medium in heat and is incredibly fresh tasting, due to the flecks of cilantro and lime pulp throughout. I used it on grilled veggie tacos and with tortilla chips, soooo good!
How can you not want to just spoon this out of the jar? I adore honey, but there's something so special about honeycomb. I mean, bees made it. From nectar and wax...what??! I will be happily using this on everything from toast to cheese boards to who knows what else I'll come up with.
These organic, pesticide free blueberries were incredible! They were plump, juicy and just the right amount of sweet. I had planned on using them in some yummy baked good, but as you can tell from the past tense, they were already eaten by the handful.
Another fantastic fruit I found was this Flavoroso Pluot. A pluot is a cross between a plum and an apricot and the result is a super fresh, slightly tart flavor close to that of a plum combined with the creamy, soft texture of an apricot. These were so juicy i had to eat them over the sink! I can't wait to go back and get more.
I love buying all natural, handmade soap and these lovely bars came from Camlon Farm in Perris, Ca. They had photos of their goats at their stand. How could I say no? Plus, they had lovely mixtures that I haven't seen elsewhere, like the Rosemary with Coffee Grounds. The grounds act as an exfoliant and give off a slight scent, but you mostly pick up the fresh rosemary. The top bar is Rose Jasmine, which I am a sucker for. I bought a few of these to place around my house and so far, I'm in love!
These plastic (hooray! they're light and easy to carry) airtight bins were hidden on the shelf behind pricier glass ones. Who wants glass anyway? Ever consider what would happen if you dropped a glass jar of flour on the floor? Ruined container, ruined flour, ruined day. I was so excited to find these and they were only $5 bucks a piece...which is crazy as I would probably pay 3 times that elsewhere! I brought them home and filled them up with things that I use often and need easy access to. The middle container is rice, which always comes in a bag. The bag can be cumbersome and spills happen easily when I reach in to scoop out a cup. This way is much cleaner and I'll be able to see exactly when I need to buy more. There was a little bit of rice left in the bag, which I sealed, rolled and placed in the back of my pantry to grab as a refill later. I plan to use the empty container pictured for pasta, which, like rice, often comes in bags, especially at Natural Food Stores.
This is the co-ed jacuzzi where you can meet up with your spouse/partner/friends before or after your treatment. The room was light and bright with beautiful gold accents and morrocan style decor.
This lamp hung above the stairs to the co-ed area. It was absolutely beautiful and surrounded by walls of complete mosaic.
Lunch with a view came next. The ninth floor of the hotel houses the pool and poolside restaurant. Here, I enjoyed the warm breeze and delicious Grilled Halibut Fish Tacos, while my mom went for the Margherita Flatbread.
Finally, it was time for the massages, the sauna, the jacuzzi and a quick trip in the steam room. It was probably the best massage I've ever had, complete with apricot scented massage oil, and a heated sand neck pillow midway through.