Italian wedding soup. Ranch lingo. Buckaroos on horses checking their Blackberries.

Kim Brackett’s blog at beefmatters.com is more than cute kid photos and family news. Her site, funded by marketing and research program Beef Checkoff, gives an insight into rural Idaho ranch life and promotes beef to consumers.

The blog, still in its infancy, includes beef recipes, information about the cattle industry and witty, articulate commentary on daily life on the ranch. Brackett, a Cattlemen’s Beef Board member, also reviews books that deal with life in the West and plans to do beef-related giveaways twice a month. Almost every post has accompanying photos — one of the biggest challenges of the blog, Brackett said.

She addresses questions she regularly fields about her family’s operation — except for how many heads of cattle they have. (“That’s like asking ‘How much money’s in your wallet?’” Brackett said.) People regularly ask about animal care and ranch life, like whether her kids ride horses.

When posting her recipes, Brackett includes personal tidbits, like how her four children received the recipe and how she tweaked the original to satisfy her family’s tastes.

“Everyone at the table gave this dish a thumbs-up. We have quite the sophisticated meal rating system around here,”Brackett wrote on a Nov. 7 post for carne asada tacos with avocado pico de gallo. “My kids were disappointed that we didn’t have it for dinner again the following night.”

She also wants to get rid of misconceptions that cattle ranchers don’t care about the environment.

“We pride ourselves in being good stewards of the land and taking good care of the animals,”she said.

Brackett receives technical support and funding for site hosting from the Beef Checkoff, but everything else about the blog is her brainchild.

“It’s completely mine,”she said.

Diane Henderson, communications director for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board in Centennial, Colo., said that although the organization doesn’t endorse individual members’ blogs, it appreciates any means members use to educate the public.

“We encourage them to share positive messages about the beef industry and to correct misinformation that’s out there,” Henderson said.

So far, it’s working. Brackett said her feedback has been positive — especially from her Blackberry-wielding, Internet-savvy, handlebar-mustachioed husband, Ira.

“My husband loves it,” she said. “Tells everybody about it.”

Melissa Davlin may be reached at 208-735-3234 or melissa.davlin@lee.net.