I met director and creator of "Wisconsin Foodie" Arthur Ircink several years ago and was fortunate enough to work with him in the first season of the show.

His approach to Wisconsin food, restaurants, farmers and local keepers of the "faith" was a completely fresh and new perspective. It's unique in the sense that the show is not funded by advertising dollars. Integrity and objectivity are paramount and that was obvious from the first episode.

I recently caught up with him to ask him about his ideas, inspirations and some recommendations.

OnMilwaukee.com: Compared to newspapers and radio, what is about films that interests you? And how did you get into films?

Arthur Ircink: It's hard to compare those different mediums; I grew up loving the movies and always wanted to be a part of that craft. Newspapers and radio are more objective. I like the subjectivity of film, letting the viewer interpret the story. To me, the best films are the ones that make you think and that is really the goal with Wisconsin Foodie, to make people think about their food choices. I don't look at Wisconsin Foodie as part of the "media;" in my mind each episode is a documentary film that explores a character's story relating to our culinary environment.

When I was a kid my father would take me to the movies every Friday. I found comfort in the theater. Growing up, movies became an escape for me, when the real world gave me a hard time I always knew I had an out. There was a point were I was exposed to different filmmakers like Herzog, the Maysles Brothers, Godard, Begman and Bunuel, [and] at that point I began to look at cinema as art and something I wanted to contribute to.

It can be very complicated to make a film – you need a crew, actors, money, a script, etc. In the early days it was a challenge for me to organize all of that, so I naturally turned to documentary filmmaking, which is something that can be done with a subject and a camera. In the end I am drawn to the storytelling a…

There are so many different ways to cook asparagus. Most people enjoy grilling, sauteing or even topping it with a poached egg. When I was a child I remember my mother making for breakfast asparagus and egg patties, sprinkled with parmesan and in focaccia.

Well, I thought you might enjoy a Wisconsin-inspired recipe on what to do with asparagus, as the market season is about to begin.

Asparagus Golabki

Serves four to six people

• 4 green cabbage leaves, blanched and shocked in ice bath
• 12 ounces spring asparagus risotto (see recipe)
• 2 ounces tomato mint vinaigrette (see recipe)
• Lemon zest

Asparagus Risotto

• 1 ounce butter
• 1 ½ ounces yellow onion, minced
• ½ ounce roasted garlic paste
• 1 cup Carnaroli rice
• 1 ½ ounces white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig thyme
• 6 cups vegetable stock, hot
• 1 bunch of local asparagus, peeled and blanched, sliced into thin coins

On med-low heat, sweat onions in melted butter until translucent. Add garlic and continue to cook being careful not to brown.

Add rice and stir to coat with butter. Add bay leaf and thyme. Deglaze with the white wine.

Add stock a little at a time while constantly stirring. When stock has been absorbed by the rice, add more until the rice is finished cooking. Make sure to keep stirring the entire time (this will make the risotto creamy).

When the risotto is cooked, add the asparagus. Finish by stirring in the olive oil and spread on a sheet tray to cool.

Tomato Mint Vinaigrette

• 2 ounces Banyuls vinegar (or high quality champagne vinegar)
• 2 ounces organic tomatoes, small diced, and seeded
• ½ ounce mint, chiffonade
• 2 ounces Lucini olive oil
• 2 ounces vegetable stock

Slowly whisk olive oil into vinegar. Add tomatoes and mint. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To prepare Golabki:

Roll three ounces asparagus risotto into each cabbage leaf.

Place in pan with vinaigrette, heat in a 350 degree oven for ab…

It seems spring hasn't fully committed yet, but we are starting to see some local spring green garlic.

Pinehold Gardens, run by farmers David Kozlowski and Sandra Raduenzis, is already harvesting some. It produces 12 different varieties of garlic and has more than 12,000 bulbs! It offers many different varieties of produce to restaurants, markets and the members of its CSA.

I encourage you to join Pinehold's Community Supported Agriculture. It's a fall harvest CSA, so expect to read some blogs with recipes featuring whatever we receive this fall. I can't wait! A CSA is a great way to support local farms, your community and your dinner table.

And if you really want to treat yourself, you'll find many menu items featuring Pinehold Gardens produce on La Merenda's menu.

Enjoy this spring-"inspired" weather and in the meantime, here is a recipe for a tasty soup featuring one of my favorite ingredients.

Chef Jason Gorman's Spring Green Garlic Soup with Rock Shrimp and Hungarian Sausage

Serves four

4 tablespoons chopped spring green garlic
2 each Hungarian sausage
4 ounces rock shrimp soup
4 tablespoons local butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 quart heavy cream
1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1 bottle of your favorite local craft beer
1 teaspoon of salt

Preparation:

In a medium pot combine butter, spring green garlic and Hungarian sausage. Cook over medium heat.

Whisk in flour, 1/4 of a bottle of local beer and cook for about three minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat for about 15-20 minutes. Best if made the day ahead.

For more information, here is a link to Pinehold Gardens and to La Merenda Restaurant.

I encourage you to first read a 2011 blog by Dr. Sarah Janssen, a physician and senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Then read Barry Estabrook's most recent blog about the FDA's decision to be made March 31.

Estabrook is a two-time winner of the prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards for food writing. His first, for a gourmet feature about labor abuses in Florida's tomato fields, led to his acclaimed book "Tomatoland," about how industrial agriculture has ruined one of America's favorite foods.

His blog "Politics of the Plate" earned Estabrook his second Beard award in 2011. He lives on a 30-acre tract in Vermont where he gardens, tends hens, taps maple trees and brews hard cider from his own apples.

An excerpt from Estabrook's most recent blog:

"You almost certainly have BPA in your bloodstream – nine out of 10 Americans do, here are the government's test results. It's also in some of the places most likely to affect the most vulnerable among us: studies have found BPA in breast milk and amniotic fluid in the umbilical cord. BPA, or bisphenol-A, is a compound used to make the plastic that lines the inside of food and beverage cans. Unfortunately, it doesn't stay bound to the containers. Most of the BPA flowing in our veins and arteries enters through packaged food we ingest. It's not the sort of chemical you want flowing through your body. BPA mimics the effects of the female hormone estrogen, causing reproductive problems along with cancer, obesity, and abnormal brain development."

Take a few minutes and follow these links on Dr. Sarah Janssen and Barry Estabrook; they will expand your horizon and Mr. Estabrook's book "Tomatoland" will certainly change your perspective of the tomato industry.