Food tastes better when consumed at its origin. Keeping this in mind, I wish to prepare a traditional North Idaho meal. Consuming food where it is produced, prepared, grown and harvested changes the experience of eating that food. My wish is to create food using local products that makes one think and feel the soul of the Idaho Panhandle. Struggling for ideas I ask myself, "Does North Idaho have its own cuisine?"

I define regional cuisine as food created by passionate people using locally grown or raised products that show homage to the culture and traditions of the community. Idahoans eat regional cuisine in their homes every day. To answer my question, I need to search my home pantry, freezer, garden and local independent grocers.

If I wish to know Idaho by tasting its food, what should I eat? Potatoes? Not in North Idaho. What about lamb, pork or beef? Idaho ranchers raise wonderfully tasting domestic livestock, as do ranchers in Montana and Wyoming so I wonder, "What food is unique to Idaho?"

In my search, I decide to create a meal focusing on foods available within a 100-mile radius of Coeur d'Alene. Eating food grown or raised locally, prepared by the hands of my neighbors and offered with kindness and love is what I search for to satisfy my need to feel grounded in my community.

My North Idaho meal is:

n Grilled North Idaho Elk Backstrap with a Fernan Mountain Huckleberry Demi Glace on a bed of Palouse Lentils and St. Maries Wild Rice Risotto topped with Laughing Dog Brewery's Huckleberry Cream Ale braised morel mushrooms - yum, yum!

• Pumpkin soup made with elk stock

• Elderberry grunt

Let's examine some of the local ingredients.

St. Maries Wild Rice - According to the company, duck hunters introduced the first wild rice in Idaho in the mid-1940s, to enhance waterfowl habitat in Benewah Lake, surrounding rivers and marshes. The project was so successful that the plant choked boat channels and dock areas. The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation was afraid it would overrun its lakes and sought bidders to harvest it.

In 1982, St. Maries Wild Rice Company was formed to harvest and process the Idaho wild rice. Each year, the Idaho Parks Department receives income from the harvest at Benewah Lake.That income is used to continue to restore and enhance the waterfowl habitat in Heyburn State Park where the lake is located.

The Palouse of eastern Washington and North Idaho grow a third of the lentils in the United States. A few interesting facts about lentils from folks at the National Lentil Festival:

• Lentils may have been used as an aphrodisiac in ancient Egypt. They also thought that the lentil enlightened the minds of children, making them more cheerful and studious.

• Folic Acid is one very important nutrient found in lentils. One cup of cooked lentils provides 90 percent of the recommended daily allowance (RDA). Lentils provide more folic acid than any other unfortified food.

• The lentil is a cousin of the bean, and both are a part of the legume family. All legumes are seeds that grow within pods.

• Lentils have been found in the tombs of Egypt dating back to 2400 B.C.

When thinking of the quintessential food of Idaho one must include the state fruit of Idaho, the huckleberry. This little purple berry became the fruit of our state in 2000. Late July and August is harvest time but most locals keep a bag of berries in their freezer for huckleberry emergencies.

Morel mushrooms are found after a rain in the wet Northwest and thanks to this desperately wet winter and spring, the crop should be prolific. According to Cathie Arquilla, the wily morel might just as easily be found by the side of the road as deep in the forest. Morels like places that have been burned a few years back, the ashy soil making them happy. The key is to look for Trillium flowers, delicate little things with petals turning from white to lavender as they mature.

I discovered Laughing Dog Brewery a few years ago. The small brewery in Sandpoint brews tasty beer, including the regional Huckleberry Ale suggested above. I love their IPA's and Pale Ale. As their motto states it is, "Fetchingly Good Beer."

Now it's time for a confession. I am a great hunter but a poor harvester. I love to hunt and spend days in the woods every autumn but seldom bring home meat. Hunting season usually ends with a trip to Tim's Meats to fill my tag with a wide selection of venison, elk, bison and duck. I also have the benefit of good friends who, unlike me, are good harvesters and share their bounty.

Next week I will offer the recipes for the Idaho feast presented above. If you are a local producer, grower, farmer, rancher or harvester please email me so I can share your local and regional foods that make Idaho special.

Bill Rutherford is a psychotherapist, public speaker, elementary school counselor, adjunct college psychology instructor and executive chef, and owner of Rutherford Education Group. Please email him at [email protected] and check out www.foodforthoughtcda.com.