Around the 4th of July wineberriese start ripening.  I had never heard of them until I moved to Virginia, but they grow in many places.  Here they are like weeds.  They have a long picking season since the ones in the sun ripen well ahead of those in the shady woods.  Even those on the same bush have some still green while others are ripe.

Birds and bears like them, so it is a race to see if I can pick some before they do.  

These were the first ones picked this year.  Year before last I picked about six quarts.  Then the birds found them.  This year they have picked many, but also have left patches for me.  When the bears come through they don’t leave any.

Of course I eat some as I pick, but most are frozen for either jam or a frozen dessert that can be made with blueberries, peaches, strawberries, raspberries and wineberries.  I like it best with wineberries, although I haven’t tried peaches.

This recipe was in a local newspaper.  I only use 1/4 cup of honey or less, and two cups to a quart of Wineberries.  I also increase the cashews to 2 cups, but that’s not necessary.  Never made it with only  1/2 cup of fruit, but know it’s really good with more.

So I won’t have to wash my high speed blender twice, I first use the milling blade for the cashews.  I do 1/2 cup at a time.  If they aren’t perfectly ground, then they will be when the filling is added.  I put the ground cashews in a bowl until I use them in the filling.

Next I use a regular blade to make the crust.  Here you have to be careful not to over blend if you want a crust that isn’t gummy.  Sometime I don’t use all the dates it calls for so it will be flaky.

After the crust is in the spring-form pan in the freezer, I make the filling.  It usually takes two batches to do the filling if you use a NutriBullet.  My friend who makes it with a Vitamix can do it all at once.  Not sure what the point is to freeze the crust for two hours.  It doesn’t seem to matter if the filling goes in as soon as it’s made.  Then it all goes back into a freezer bag and into the freezer.

When it is firm, but not completely frozen I take it out and cut it into serving pieces.  After wrapping them in plastic wrap I put them back into a freezer bag in the freezer.  Then I can take out how many I want each time, and they are ready to thaw.  Some people like to eat them right out of the freezer.  They are better if they stay a little frozen.

It makes it easy to thaw one for me.

If you are gluten free and dairy free, this is a great dessert for you.