It's round, it's sweet, it dyes your tongue purple…blueberries are here!

Michiganders have been roaming the woods, hills and beaches with purple tongues and fingers for several weeks now. Farmers say the colorful berries will last until September.

Did you know?

• Berries should be kept as dry as possible — wash them just before serving.
• Acids, such as lemon juice and vinegar, turn blueberry juice red. Too much baking soda can turn the berries blue-green.
• Bacteria-busting, virus-vanquishing blueberries help your heart, eyes, and brain.

Find it!

• You can find 15 farms selling blueberries from Manistee to the Mackinac Bridge in the Michigan Land Use Institute's online guide to local farm foods, www.LocalDifference.org .
• Press the “Search Now” button in the “Find a Farm!” box, click on “blueberries,” the county you're interested in, “U-pick” if that sounds like fun, and then “Find It!” and you will get quite a list of blueberry farms in that county.

Try it!

• Add a burst of blue to your cereal, yogurt or fruit salads.
• Enjoy colorful pancakes or waffles. Be sure to add the berries right after you pour the batter onto the griddle or waffle iron—this makes the pancakes easier to flip.

Blueberry-Spinach Salad , adapted from www.bcblueberries.com
1 lb spinach
3 tbsp hazelnuts, sliced
2 cups blueberries
½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups sliced peaches or fresh apricots (they're in season, too!)

Honey –Sesame Dressing
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
¼ cup blueberry vinegar or cider vinegar
2.5 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp honey
¼ tsp paprika
dash Tabasco sauce

Wash and dry spinach. Toast the sesame seeds in an ungreased skillet over medium heat, stirring until they are lightly browned. Combine toasted sesame seeds with the other dressing ingredients and pour the dressing over the spinach, tossing just enough to coat the leaves. Then add the hazelnuts, blueberries, red onion, and peach or apricot slices, tossing just enough to mix.

Spectacular Mixed Berry Gratin
4 generous handfuls of blueberries, plus 2 handfuls of raspberries, halved cherries or another berry of your choice. Rinse and drain berries, then mix them together in an oven safe dish. Mix half of a package of softened cream cheese or neufchatel cheese with 1/2 cup milk. Pour the milk mixture over the top of the berries and broil for 12 minutes or until top is just browned.  Keep an eye on it!

Blueberry Gingerbread , from www.bcblueberries.com
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs

½ cup light unsulphured molasses
1 cup buttermilk

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (slightly thawed)
2 Tbsp grated orange peel
2 Tbsp grated lemon peel

1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 x 2" pan. Stir the first 8 ingredients together, mixing well, then set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the brown sugar and continue mixing until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time.

Combine the buttermilk with the molasses. As the beaters whir away, pour in a little buttermilk/molasses mixture, then dump in a little flour mixture, then repeat until everything is mixed together. Don't forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you mix!

Fold in the blueberries, and the orange and lemon peels.

Spread batter in the prepared pan, sprinkle crystallized ginger over the top, then bake for 50 minutes. Check to see if it's done by sticking a knife into the center of the bread. If the knife comes out clean, bon appétit!

Let the cake cool for a few minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, ice cream and plenty of fresh blueberries.

Taste the Local Difference is part of the Michigan Land Use Institute's Entrepreneurial Agriculture Project, which aims to grow jobs, save farmland, and build healthier communities with food that's thousands of miles fresher. Find more than 160 farms and fishers who sell fresh foods on their farms, in farmers markets, and to restaurants and stores at www.LocalDifference.org . TLD lead sponsors are Traverse City State Bank and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.