Award winning radio producer, Guy Hand takes a monthly tour of
Idaho's surprising variety of local foods--the homegrown, wild, and
occasionally just plain weird—on NPR News 91, Boise State Radio FM 91.5

GETTING BACK TO THE GARDEN
The Boise Urban Garden School (BUGS) teaches kids the joy and value of gardening. Wendy Young, co-founder of BUGS, believes her students will learn to not only grow tomatoes, but help nuture a future based on sustainable agriculture.
AIRED MAY 2008

A SHORT WALK FROM FARM TO FEAST
Shortening the distance from farmer to plate is what the local food movement is all about. Chef Andrae Bopp cuts that distance to a mere half a block.
AIRED APRIL 2008

FINGER STEAKS: The Search for an Idaho Original
Finger steaks—those crispy battered strips of deep-fried meat—are an Idaho invention. Tim Woodward, columnist for the Idaho Statesman, recently went in search of the original recipe.
AIRED MARCH 2008

TATER TOTS: From Cattle Feed to Retro Cache
Those crispy potato nuggets were invented on the Idaho Oregon border, from what had been—cattle feed. Yet the Tot has transcended its humble origins, now appearing in trendy bars and restaurants all over America.
AIRED FEBRUARY 2008

TRUFFLE FEVER
Paul Beckman is planting an orchard. But not any old orchard. This one hides an invisible crop. One that could make growers rich—or look just a little foolish. It all depends on whether there's botanical magic percolating through the soil beneath his feet.
AIRED JANUARY 2008

HOW MANY COWS NOW?
Idaho’s milk output has doubled in the last ten years, dwarfing potato production. All that milk takes a lot of cows. But how many? Critics say the agencies responsible for regulating Idaho’s dairy industry really don’t know. And if you can’t count the cows, they say you can’t control the environmental problems that come with factory farming.
AIRED JANUARY 2008

NOT THE BEERS OF CHRISTMAS PAST
This time of year, brewers are brewing holiday ales. But those big, rich beers require lots of hops and barley, ingredients that are getting expensive and hard to find. That could change your next pint of holiday cheer.
AIRED DECEMBER 2007

LIVING IN THE VINES
The federal government has officially named southern Idaho wine country. And tha'ts uncorked a new, vineyard-fueled real estate development.
AIRED NOVEMBER 2007

CRAWDAD CONNOISSEURS
When most of us think of Idaho cuisine, the first thing that comes to mind isn't likely to be seafood. Yet a relative of the lobster lives right here in our land-locked state.
AIRED OCTOBER 2007

FAITH & FOOD
The Monastery of St. Gertrude, north of Grangeville, is surrounded by some of the most beautiful country central Idaho has to offer. It's no wonder that the Benedictine sisters of St. Gertrude feel a close connection to the land.
AIRED SEPTEMBER 2007

POTATOES, PESTICIDES, AND THE MAGIC OF MUSTARD
We all know that Idaho is famous for potatoes. But did you know that nearly a third of those potatoes are grown on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, near Pocatello? The soils there are perfect for growing spuds. But that light, sandy soil also leaches agricultural chemicals into the ground water.
AIRED AUGUST 2007

GENETICALLY MODIFIED ALFALFA CREEPS INTO CONTROVERSY
There's a drama playing out in an unlikely place: the alfalfa fields of southern Idaho. It pits farmer against farmer in a struggle that could shape the future of American agriculture.
AIRED JULY 2007

A LOCAL CHICKEN IN EVERY POT
The local food movement has caught on in Idaho. With a little effort, you can fill your plate with Idaho grown fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish. But not chicken. There wasn't a single commercial source of Idaho poultry in the state. Until now.
AIRED JUNE 2007

THE CULTURE OF FOOD
Dr. Susan Swetnam is a kind of detective, but instead of analyzing fingerprints or DNA samples, she investigates eating habits.
AIRED MAY 2007

HAGGIS & HOME
In this installment of Edible Idaho, Guy Hand admits that his Scottish wife brought one food from her homeland he finds a little hard to swallow.
AIRED MARCH 2007

ELK RANCHING IN THE CROSS HAIRS
Many fear that Idaho's relatively new domestic elk industry could threaten the region's wild herds with disease and genetic impurity. And that begs the philosophical question: Where should we draw the line between the forest and the farm?
AIRED FEBRUARY 2007

NOSTROVIA!: IDAHO VODKA & CAVIAR
On this New Years Day installment of Edible Idaho, Guy Hand finds an Idaho connection to caviar. And tries a little local vodka along the way.
AIRED JANUARY 1ST 2007

THE LOCAL IN WINTER
Idaho chef Kirt Martin is committed to cooking with local ingredients. But what does a cook do in December, long after the garden is gone?
AIRED DECEMBER 2006

THE MEANING OF WATER POTATO
For the Coeur d'Alene tribe of North Idaho getting-back-to-their-roots isn't just a figure of speech. For the tribe, it literally means getting back to the foods that once sustained them.
AIRED NOVEMBER 2006

BLESSED ARE THE CHEESEMAKERS
Guy Hand visits a small dairy near Gooding with an award winning solution to the modern agricultural imperative to "get big or get out."
AIRED OCTOBER 2006

GETTING BACK TO THE GARDEN
The Boise Urban Garden School (BUGS) teaches kids the joy and value of gardening. Wendy Young, co-founder of BUGS, believes her students will learn to not only grow tomatoes, but help nuture a future based on sustainable agriculture.
AIRED SEPTEMBER 2006

HIGH DESERT AQUACULTURE
When you think of agriculture in the land-locked West, the first thing that come to mind probably isn't alligator. With the help of the clear waters and hot springs near Hagerman, Idaho, Leo Ray has helped expand the definition of agriculture in the high desert.
AIRED AUGUST 2006

CHERRY TIME
Cherry grower Al Dimmick knows just how fragile and fleeting cherries and the cherry industry can be. But that might be what makes that quintessential summer fruit taste so sweet.
AIRED JULY 2006

A SHORT WALK FROM FARM TO FEAST
Shortening the distance from farmer to plate is what the local food movement is all about. Chef Andrae Bopp cuts that distance to a mere half a block.
AIRED JUNE 2006