Chocolate Chip

One of the kitchen cabinets in our house contains an oblong, but rather short in height, Tupperware
storage container that holds chocolate chips. The container is near the salt, vanilla extract, brown sugar,  powdered sugar, corn meal, baking powder, baking soda, and other common baking ingredients. Chocolate chips often bring a good deal of joy to one’s taste buds, and one’s belly, whether or not in a cookie. Interestingly, it seems that chocolate chip cookies were invented first in the late 1930’s by a lady in Massachusetts. The legend goes that Ruth Wakefield, lacking a final ingredient, decided to cut up a semi-sweet chocolate bar and mix the chunks in with the dough. What she discovered was that the chunked chocolate, held its shape. Wakefield later teamed with Nestle’s and the infamous Toll House cookies were born. The name is derived from the Toll House Inn, the location where she made the first chocolate chip cookie. Chocolate morsels, or chips to most of us, would take on the widely known tear shape. Some argue that it is better to use chunked chocolate in making chocolate chip (chunk?) cookies as the chunks provide a different and varied texture to the cookie compared to the use of regular sized chocolate chips. To each their own taste buds and belly as to what is best to use, chocolate in chunks or chips.

Source:  Google Images

Source:  Google images

Situated as it is in the baking side of the cupboard, one would think that the chocolate chips were meant solely for use in baking. After all, no one eats baking powder out of a container, so why should they do so for chocolate chips, right nearby? Chocolate chips, however, are not baking powder. Whether chips or morsels, small or large, they taste good. Hence the problem. In the household of two, one person often goes to the chocolate chip container to grab a handful to directly eat, or more commonly, to place on top of banana, pumpkin or zucchini bread that has first seen a nice thick layer of peanut butter slathered on the sweet bread. What better way to enhance the bread.  It of course is not sufficient for the person to eat the piece of bread without a condiment. No, the person has to add toppings, not unlike if it were a dish of ice cream.  Some may take the view that it is destroying the flavor of the bread.  It cannot be the simple addition of butter, but it is peanut butter. Nor does a simple layer of peanut butter suffice, it has to be thick. But, even this is not enough, the baking cupboard is opened to obtain access to the chocolate chips. This prompts the other person, who is really the first citizen of the household, to sling the question, often in an accusing prosecutorial tone of voice that would well outdo Ken Kratz of “making a Murderer” fame: “Are you in the chocolate chips again?”  With strong emphasis on “again”, like it occurs daily.  Apparently, the first citizen of the household feels that chocolate chips belong in the cupboard equivalent of Fort Knox. Although come to think of it, the tone of voice used is best described as a one of a mother making an accusation at one of her children, which is the tone no one ever wants to hear, much less debate.

Step 1:  Cut a Piece of Zucchini Bread
Author photo

However, the chocolate chips were not always in the baking cupboard. They used to be on the side that contains the peanut butter; in this way there was a match between two great tastes that go well together. First citizen’s rearranging of the cupboards and moving of the chocolate chips to the baking side may have well been a statement for the other member of the household to keep their hands off the chocolate chips but for baking, and occasional use in a home-made sauce for ice cream. If the relocation of the chocolate chips was accomplished to send a warning shot, it went unnoticed until the writing of this blog post. It may be that the first citizen of the home does not wish to come up empty when it is time to bake some chocolate chip cookies, or zucchini bread with chocolate chips, or whatever. The corollary of course, is to make sure that the household always has plenty of chocolate chips on hand, just as it is known to have plenty of peanut butter on hand.

Step 2:  Layer on the Peanut Butter, Nice and Thick
Author photo

Access to the chocolate chips sometimes comes with no comment. In fact, this past weekend, two other times came without any such comment, but the envelope was pushed on the third time in three days and the question came out. The derisive question meant to dissuade ignominious activity was followed by silence of the perpetrator in response. The silence followed with another comment by the questioner: “There has to be a blog post in this….”   While the person making the comment did not write this post, but instead it is written by the person on the receiving end of the question of once again being in the chocolate chips. Chocolate chips are good in more than just cookies, ice cream, or baked in zucchini bread. They also go well with a number of other items, and as Reese’s shows, chocolate and peanut butter go well together.

Step 3:  Cover with Chocolate Chips

The concept of what goes with chocolate chips should not be foreign as the first citizen of the house well knows that I am the one who used to make and eat peanut butter, chocolate chip and bologna sandwiches. Nestle, those of the very best chocolate advertisers, never approached me for the possibility of marketing such a sandwich. I suspect they did not wish my use of chocolate chips with bologna to outpace Toll House cookies in fame and fortune.  Their loss, not mine.  My use of chocolate chips may not rate up there with Mrs. Wakefield, but in my house they are treated by one occupant as needing to belong in the cupboard of Fort Knox. My taste buds and stomach revolt to such a thought.