The Healthy Journal

I love summer. Nothing like getting locally grown fruits and vegetables out of my own garden, from the farmers market or from a local small farm. This week, less than 5 miles from my home, a small blueberry farm opened for picking. We showed up about noon to Once in a Blue Moon Berries . Mike, the steely blue-eyed owner of this gentlemen's farm, chatted with us out in the field while picking berries—dropping the blue beauties into our collection buckets. Mike and Janet Suttles take great pride in their little farm, which produces three types of blueberries, including sweet  Baby Blues. They use only sustainable methods to nourish and pamper their prized berries—picking weeds by hand and treating with organic products. Those berries looked happy and healthy. You can find Once in a Blue Moon Berries on a bucolic country road south of the American River in El Dorado Hills, California. Open Now Through June 9am - 4pm Wednesday - Sunday Once in a Blue Moon Berries 1820 Arroyo Vista Way

Except for the orange color from the carrots, this salad could be called the Italian Salad. Green, white and red like the Italian flag. After all, Italians are in with  chopped veggie salads. They call them Antipasto—meaning "before the meal" or the traditional first course. On special occasions the antipasto includes sliced, cured meats. Of course, olives are always included. This salad would be wonderful served with a small bowl of olives to toss in the mix. Red Potato, Green Bean & Cauliflower Salad from PCRM yield 6 1-cup servings category   Salad cuisine Vegan, Vegetarian ingredients 1 red potato, diced 1 carrot, sliced 1 C green beans 1 C cauliflower florets 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced 2 Tbsp finley chopped fresh parsley 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 Tbsp rice vinegar 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 tsp of cranberry or apple juice concentrate 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tsp dijon mustard 1/4 tsp seal salt 1/4 tsp pepper directions 1. Steam

Tip: Check out a new site for step-by-step How-To instructions on doing, creating, making or fixing things. From How to Unclog Your Bathroom Drain to How to Change the Battery on Your Prius and everything in-between. The site is called StepTap  and will surely be a winner. Search for something you might want to learn OR add your own How-To steptap list. Use photos and/or videos to create the steps of a project you want to share with the world. How to Prepare Roasted Vegetables is my contribution to the Steplists on StepTap.

Get ready to fire up the grill as the warm weather approaches and Memorial Day is on the horizon. For a fresh take on gazpacho, try this recipe. It's simple and quick—needing a hot BBQ and blender to execute. Grilled Yellow Gazpacho & Shrimp from Raleys.com yield 4 servings category Main Course cuisine Seafood ingredients 2 large yellow heirloom tomatoes 1 yellow bell pepper, stemmed and seeded 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and seeded 2 (1/2-inch think) slices onion 3/4 C peeled diced cucumber 1/4 C fresh cilantro leaves 3 Tbsp slivered almonds, toasted 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp sherry vinegar 1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste 1 clove garlic, minced 16 wild Texas Gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 tsp smoked paprika sea salt to taste directions 1. Grill tomatoes, pepper and onion (turning occasionally) over medium-high heat on a well-oiled grill for 5 minutes or until nicely charred. 2. Place in a blender or food processor with next 7 ingredients up to garlic. Blend

Tip: A word of caution about juicing. Do not juice only fruit. Without the fiber, you've concentrated the sugar—that's too much sugar . A maximum of 25-30 grams of sugar from all sources per day is the limit for health. Above that amount adds to weight and unhealthy conditions for the body. A glass of fruit juice can contain the equivalent amount of sugar as a soft drink... and you know that's not healthy. The idea of juicing fruit is to add vegetables—adding more each time—until you acquire a palate for greens. Stick with juicing lots of greens, adding one small apple/pear for sweetness.

It's that time of the year when farmer's markets open all across the country. Each year there are more opening as the demand for locally grown food grows. Hurray! As the large farms expand by gobbling up smaller family farms and wars are waged over water to the farm fields , consumers are showing they want to buy from small local farms. Meeting the farmer and being able to quiz them on their growing methods is becoming important. If you live in El Dorado county here are the locations and start dates for  local farmer's markets : Cameron Park - Burke Junction Wednesday, May 14 Placerville - by Sweetie Pies Saturday, May 3  Placerville - Library Friday, June 6 ( NEW! )  El Dorado Hills - Town Center Sunday, May 18  El Dorado Hills - Community Center Thursday, June 5  Remember, just because it comes from a farm does not make it organic. Ask the farmers about their farming process. Some are in the pr