LOLO - There's craftsmanship in making meals — growing healthy vegetables and raising cared-for livestock — pairing ingredients, slicing and cooking techniques, and creating beautifully presented and tasting dishes.
And no one knows that better than The Taste of Montana, where local products make delicious Treasure State meals.
“First thing I would say is there’s always a little bit of pride in that. You know when you have something that you knew that came from… I live here. And that’s from here. And now I have this pride in the food I’m taking in,” The Taste of Montana creator Radd Icenoggle told MTN News.
"We had pork, we had beef. You know mom had a pretty extensive garden, a couple acre garden," said Radd who grew up on a ranch in Plains. "We had a small orchard. So, we had about 20 apple trees and about 10 plum trees. So, we had a lot of our own food. And then mom canned a lot.”
Radd, who has been cooking for as long as he can remember, says that cooking from scratch is an artistic relaxation practice.
“If you go from scratch you’re making the onion paste, you’re making the garlic paste, and then you’re putting the curry together. And now you have all these steps and you’re like ‘oh if I just went and got it out of a foil packet I don’t understand all those, all that process it took to get to this flavor.' You kind of have this idea that you’re fully involved in the process from beginning to end,” he explained.
Using Montana products gives Radd a sense of calmness and connection.
His website Taste of Montana is an online catalog that can connect you to Montana-based goods and recipes.
“I think it’s much healthier mentally to know where your food comes from. It’s not a mystery. When you know where it comes from or you produce it yourself there’s an even greater level of care.”
And when sharing the farm-to-table food with friends or loved ones, Radd believes, “It’s another way to kind of spread out even your love of state.”
Radd’s creativity with Montana-grown products fuels his variety of recipes.
“I think the real artistic thing is having something like an idea of what you could transform [something] into something that perhaps no one else has done," he said. "And hav[ing] that idea of fun and exploration with your food. Also when you’re trying to find new methods of cooking, new avenues, new flavor combinations.”
To spice up your cooking, check out The Taste of Montana’s online recipe guide by clicking here.
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