I always have an abundance of the wild dewberries and the cultivated Blackberries. After I have made all the jam I want, I use the fresh or frozen berries to make Blackberry (or dewberry) Bread. I frequently double or triple the recipe and freeze the cooked loaves. They freeze exceptionally well. Other things I do with fresh or frozen blackberries and dewberries: I will sometimes make a plain pound cake or angel food cake and defrost a couple of cups of berries. Add sugar to the berries (if frozen without sugar) and let them get syrupy. Spooned over the plain cake, it is delicious. I have also made pineapple upside down cake, substituting berries for the pineapple and cherries. Ive even made the traditional "dump cake" that usually calls for unmixed cake mix, pineapple and blueberries, substituting dewberries or blackberries. I prefer the combo of peaches with the berries instead of pineapple (as usually called for in the recipe). I also can a lot of dewberry and/or blackberry juice. I think the recipe I use is from the Ball Blue book. We sometimes add the juice to iced tea for a very refreshing drink. Hope that helps. As you can see, my skinny husband has a sweet tooth! Jill in Texas p.s. Here's the recipe for Blackberry (or dewberry) Bread. The recipe is from: myrecipes.com; source: Southern Living October 2008. I love this recipe. Blackberry Bread Prep: 10 min.; Bake: 1 hr., 15 min.; Cool: 1 hr., 10 min. YIELD: Makes 1 loaf Ingredients 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup milk 1/3 cup butter, melted 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon lemon zest 2 tablespoons lemon juice Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 350�. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir in blackberries. 2. Whisk together sugar and next 5 ingredients in a medium bowl until thoroughly blended. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until blended. Pour batter into a lightly greased 8 1/2- x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. 3. Bake at 350� for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

Milk won't work if you are trying to cut fat content....but I'll bet non fat Cool Whip would....:-Q And maybe instead of lemon juice you could use 2 teaspoons of Cystal Light and some splenda instead of sugar....and how about egg beaters instead of the egg yolks and powdered merangue mix instead of the egg whites? And you have turned it into something with almost no fat, or sugar, no danger from undercooked eggs and no fuss with squeezing lemons. And a taste like something from the freezer section of the Acme.....and because so many have seldom eaten things with egg cooked slowly in a double boiler and fresh grated lemon rind, they might not know a difference. And that's how Grandma's lovely recipes get made into something using shortcuts, with not nearly the taste of Grandma's cooking...but because we have had so much bottled, packaged and frozen stuff...we don't mind the taste of stuff made with powdered herbs and canned fruit and vegetables and have forgotten what frozen lemon pie should taste like.....sigh... OK...off the soap box and copying and pasting it before I lose the recipe! Linda C

Bamia (sweet & sour okra) 1 lb small okra pods 2 tbls EVOO 1 tbls honey Salt & pepper to taste 1 tbls lime juice ½ cup water Wash okra and pat dry. Top and tail it, discarding any blemished or hard pods Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and sauté okra 3-5 minutes, turning each pod once. Add the honey, salt, pepper, lemon juice and water. Cover, lower heat, and simmer 15 minutes, adding more water if necessary, until pods are tender. Source: Traditional Egyptian dish. Stewed Chickpeas & Okra 2 tbls oil 1 cup okra in ½-inch slices ½ cup chopped onion ½ cup chopped green pepper 1 can (14 ½ oz) diced tomatoes ¼ tsp oregano ¼ tsp ground cumin 1/8 tsp salt 1/8 tsp red pepper 1 cup cooked or canned chickpeas Heat oil over medium high heat in saucepan. Add the okra, onion, and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until softened. Stir in the tomatoes. Add the spices. Stir in the chickpeas, bring to boil, lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, ten minutes. Source: "Wholesome Harvest" Okra Crustini 12-15 okra, sliced 6 garlic cloves, minced 2-4 paste tomatoes, diced handful basil, chopped white wine salt & pepper to taste Olive oil French bread Diagonally cut French bread about 3/8 inch thick. Brush with olive oil and toast both sides, preferably over a charcoal fire; of in the broiler. Saute okra in olive oil, 3-4 minutes, then add garlic and continue cooking until garlic just turns golden. Add tomatoes and a dash of white wine. Add salt & pepper. When juices start to flow add the basil. Cook until tomatoes have fully softened and their juice combines with the okra. Pile the mixture on the toasted bread slices. Source: Original recipe. Bhindi Bharwan (Indian Stuffed Okra) 1 lb okra* 3 tbls oil 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 med onion, chopped 2 green chilies, seeded & chopped ¾ inch ginger, finely chopped 1 tomato, chopped stuffing: 3 tsp ground coriander 2 tsp ground tumeric 2 tsp ground fennel seed 2 tsp Amchur (dried mango powder) 1 tsp cayenne ½ tsp salt Cut the stalk off each okra pod and make a lengthwise slit. Combine stuffing ingredients and mix well. Stuff each pod with the mixture. Saute cumin with a little oil until it starts to crackle. Add onion, chilies, and ginger and sauté until the onion turns transparent. Add tomato and cook until it turns pulpy. Add the okra and cook for 5 minutes until tender and well coated with the sauce. Serve with rice. *Zucchini or other summer squash can be substituted. Source: "The Food of Asia"

We made these for one of our Cooking Forum Virtual dinners and they were wonderful. Just scoop out the pulp, freeze the shells, when frozen fill them with the appropriate sherbert and leave in the freezer until about 5 minutes before serving. I decorated mine with a mint leaf sprig.