Those of you in the U.S. are well into your Memorial Day preparations, but if you’re still stumped, well, you’ve got a problem there, haven’t you? I’m still away from home, but I’m going to celebrate Memorial Day vicariously through you, so get moving! I’ve dug into the archives to bring you a few ideas to give you a bit of a kick start, and I’m going to go in order of what you need to do early, as opposed to the actual meal plan. Ready? Set? Go!

You need some burger buns and maybe some hot dog rolls. This one comes from one of my previous posts on the Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day baking book by Dr. Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe François, posted here. For the first time, I’m going to give you my adaptation (changes noted in red) of the the Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread recipe that I used to make these burger buns a little lighter and healthier. But you have to start right now!

Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaf (and Burger Buns)
(liberally adapted from Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day)

Ingredients:

5 cups whole wheat flour (I substituted half of this with white whole wheat flour)
2-1/2 cups unbleached AP flour
1-1/2 Tbs yeast
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
(1/4 cup flax seed meal)
1 Tbs. salt
2-1/2 cups lukewarm water (120ºF)
1/2 cup honey (I used agave nectar)
5 large eggs (I used an 8 oz carton of Egg Beaters, which approximates 4 eggs)
2/3 cup melted butter (I substituted canola oil or melted Smart Balance Light Spread)

Mix the dry ingredients together first, then add the liquid ingredients, using the paddle attachment of your mixer, or by hand, and allow to rise for 4 hours on countertop, loosely covered in a very large bowl or container, then refrigerate for several hours before using. (Overnight is best, but you don’t have time for that!) You’re not kneading this dough, so be prepared for it to be very soft and loose – more like a muffin batter than a bread dough.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Sprinkle flour over the top of the chilled dough, and start pulling out roll-sized pieces (you may need or want the assistance of kitchen shears – I also suggest wearing latex or nitrile gloves, as this is going to be sticky!). I like to weigh mine out to about 4 oz. per roll, but you can make them smaller, if you’d like. Form the dough balls into rolls by stretching the edges out and tucking them under, until you get a nice, smooth ball. If you’re making hot dog rolls, give ‘em a bit of a stretch at this point, until they resemble fat logs. Place on a baking pan lined with parchment paper or silicone baking liner, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and allow to rest for about an hour.

Brush the tops of the rolls with water and sprinkle on sesame seeds, if desired. Bake for about 20 mins. or till golden brown.

Let’s move on to dessert. And when I say dessert, I can only mean one thing: Cheesecake! I’ve made several versions of cheesecake for this blog, and there’s something here for everyone – even if you or your guests are watching their weight for health reasons:

Here’s my classic Guilt-Free Cheesecake

For ease of serving, nothing beats Mini Coffee Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes or Mini Nutella Cheesecakes, which I adapted from Abby Dodge’s Desserts 4 Today.

For the grill, try this Coffee & Chipotle Crusted London Broil – you can adapt it to brisket or steaks, too!

For a refreshing side dish, you might like this Endive, Avocado, Tarragon & Grapefruit Salad recipe that I just picked up at CulinAire Cooking School in Washington, DC, while I attended the Eat Write Retreat conference.

I’m even reprising some of a Memorial Day post I wrote back in 2009. It’s every bit as appropriate today:

Popularly, we’ve all come to think of Memorial Day as the beginning of Summer – when you can bring out your white shoes and sundresses. And there’s nothing wrong with any of that. But I ask you, while you’re standing over your barbecue or puttering in your garden, to Stop. For just a moment. Look around you. Take in the day and your surroundings. Inhale deeply. And Remember.

Remember the men and women in uniform – both military and those we now refer to as “first responders” – who gave their lives in defense of our freedoms. Whatever we feel about war, these brave souls responded to their country’s call and made the ultimate sacrifice in our names. But for them, many of us would not have gardens to putter in or barbecues to stand over, or the food to put on those picnic tables. But for them, some of us wouldn’t even be here today, including me.

We are free and we are safe. Remember. And say Thank You. Even if it’s just a moment to yourself.

Have a beautiful, safe, and delicious day!

I came home late from work the other night, and even though the temptation was great to order in pizza or take out Chinese, I resisted. I had just baked these light and fluffy burger rolls with the Soft Whole Wheat Bread dough recipe from Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, and was really eager to try them. So, in the interest of time – I was so hungry I could have chewed the arm off the couch – I grabbed some ground beef and some of my favorite cheats, and had supper on the table in literally, fifteen minutes! That’s less time than you can get a pizza – or even decide on your toppings!

This quickie meal blends the gentle heat of a favorite chili, the fun of a Sloppy Joe, and the goodness of whole wheat. By the way, this would make a great addition to your Super Bowl menu, too! Ready? Start your stopwatches:

Black Bean Chili Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

2 Tbs corn oil
1 lb lean ground beef
1 16 oz jar Oxford Falls® Fried Green Tomato Salsa (or any tomatillo-based salsa)
1 15.5 oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
8 whole wheat or whole grain hamburger buns (toasted, if you like)

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown the ground beef. Add the jar of tomatillo salsa, stir, bring up to a simmer. Add the black beans and the diced tomatoes, including its liquid. Allow to simmer until most of the liquid has cooked off, about 5 minutes.

Serve over sliced burger buns. Serves 8.

Told you it was a cheat. A tasty, even pretty healthy cheat, at that. Want to make it even healthier? Change out the ground beef for ground turkey, or even ground chicken.

And those burger buns? They sprang from this edition of the HBin5 Challenge:

To review, Michelle over at Big Black Dog, organized a group to bake from the book by Dr. Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe François, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

The current challenge is to bake 3 different things using the Soft Whole Wheat Bread Recipe: a loaf of bread, hamburger or hotdog rolls, and Apple Strudel Bread.

First, the straight-up sandwich loaf:

This is actually the second loaf I made. The first one was made with the original recipe from HBin5, and was a great hit. So much so, that the loaf was eaten before I could photograph it! This is an excellent sandwich loaf – soft, tight texture, and holds together, even sliced very thin. But I couldn’t help but wonder if I couldn’t make it even healthier for my borderline-diabetic husband.

In this version, I substituted light agave nectar for the honey as the sweetener, and substituted an 8 ounce carton of Egg Beaters (roughly the equivalent of 4 eggs) for the 5 eggs called for in the recipe. I also added 1/4 cup of flax seed meal, and to lighten it up a bit more, substituted white whole wheat flour for half of the whole wheat flour. While MJ detected only the slightest difference in taste from the original, it wasn’t anything pronounced, and I was instructed, “Don’t lose this recipe!” The highest praise.

Next up, were the burger buns you met at the top of this post. I used my kitchen scale to make these buns all the same size. They baked up soft, beautifully textured, yet sturdy. Delicious!

Last, but not least, is the Apple Strudel Bread. The same whole wheat bread dough is rolled out and rolled up with chopped apple, walnut, and (in mine) dried blueberries instead of raisins, all mixed with raw sugar and cinnamon. Yum.

This was perfect for the Jewish holiday, Tu B’Shevat, essentially our Arbor Day. As the 3 of you regular readers should know by now, a Jewish holiday doesn’t exist that doesn’t have certain food traditions attached to it and this is no exception. Traditionally, foods that contain tree fruit and nuts are served on Tu B’Shevat, and the apples and walnuts in this, definitely qualify.

Check out the other participants in the HBin5 Bread Braid to see what everyone else came up with!

Come back Tuesday for my first sponsored giveaway! Here’s your hint: Whether you’re a man or a woman, gourmet cook or home cook, you need this, and I’m betting most of you don’t have one!