Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Quick Bread

I made this for Tim's birthday yesterday.  We picked up the ingredients from Rainbow in the morning and I performed this experiment right before we left for dinner (Marnee Thai) in the evening.  The house smelled wonderful.

• 
  
• Ingredients:
• 8 ounces sugar (golden brown)
• 3.25 ounces grapeseed oil (next time, try all butter or substitute olive oil)
• 0.75 ounces unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 12 ounces sugar pie pumpkin 
• (1 medium, seeded, coated in olive oil, and roasted at 375 for 50 minutes, peeled and pureed with stick blender)
• 12 ounces all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (2 grams)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (next time use Maldon)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder (1 gram)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (65% Guittard)

Butter and flour one 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. 

Sift flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. 

Beat sugar and oil/butter in another large bowl to blend. Mix in eggs and pumpkin. 

Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions. Do NOT over stir.  Mix in chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 70 minutes, until nicely browned and fork inserted into dead center comes out clean.  (Next time, try adding a coat of butter to the top 10 minutes before done.

Using sharp knife, cut around edge of loaf. Turn loaf out onto rack (or cutting board) and cool completely.

Additional notes:

- Preparing fresh sugar pie pumpkins takes a lot of extra time.  Consider saving extra roasted butternut or delicata squash from soup-making to do this.

- Grapeseed oil kept the bread moist but didn't add much flavor.  Next time consider using olive oil or all butter or an interesting nut oil.

- Banana nut bread will take a lot less time to prep.

- Consider making smaller loaves.  For the two of us, it's much too big.  Can make everything in the toaster oven if smaller.

- Keep the major ratios the same (flour, oils, sugar, filling).  Consider making it more sweet - honey?