When photographer Michael Crouser develops a new project or series, he often spends years studying his subjects. He takes hundreds, if not thousands of photographs with his film camera, developing each image by hand in his own darkroom. In the end just dozens of these photographs become part of the final series. Such is the case with a series he captured at local dog parks in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Brooklyn, New York. The result is a stunning collection of photographs that offers a different perspective of man’s best friend, as Michael shares in this MNO Extra.

Michael’s photographs are captured in his book, Dog Run. Information about this project and others can be found on his website. To learn more about Michael Crouser, check out his full MN Original segment:

You know what rainy, dreary Autumn days make us think of? Mushrooms.

Which of course makes us immediately think of local visual artist and recent MNO feature Kate Casanova.

Casanova unearths unique intersections between art and the natural world in her installations. For her MNO segment, she was preparing for a show at the Katherine E Nash Gallery on the University of Minnesota campus which found her planting mushroom spores in the batting of chairs before reupholstering them and then letting nature take its course.

We reached out to Casanova to see if she could recommend something to do with mushrooms that might be a little easier for those of us with zero upholstery skill. She hooked us up with her favorite mushroom recipe, courtesy her friend Carol.

Wild Mushroom Lasagna

Olive oil
Garlic
2 medium onions thinly sliced
28 oz dried mushrooms
¼ cup parsley chopped
¼ cup marsala wine
½ cup butter
½ cup flour
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 cup milk
1 cup broth
2-3 cups fontina cheese
Lasagna noodles
Mozzarella and parmesan for top

Heat pan, add onions and garlic, sauté. Add mushrooms, parsley, and thyme. Sauté. Stir in wine and simmer. Set aside. To make sauce, add butter, flour, and nutmeg in a saucepan. Stir in broth and milk. Cook until it thickens, add fontina cheese. In a pan layer noodles, mushroom mixture, and sauce. Repeat, end with sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes covered and then for 10 minutes uncovered, all at 375 degrees.

Casanova says, “There’s nothing better than a tasty fungus for dinner, and this savory dish will make excited for leftovers. Enjoy!”