Pizza Bianca with morels, Maggie's Farm purple asparagus, fresh spinach, Crescenza cheese and truffle oil was one of the May 14, 2013, lunch specials at Genovese. by Sara Shepherd

It’s the time of year when morels are popping up in Kansas woods and in the news feeds of those foraging-types you’re friends with on Facebook — not that that does us non-foraging-types any good.

Luckily, a few Lawrence restaurants have secured sources for the elusive mushrooms and are plating up the pungent (in a good way!) fungi in various forms.

I got my fix today at Genovese, where the lunch specials included a Pizza Bianca with morels, Maggie's Farm purple asparagus, fresh spinach, Crescenza cheese and truffle oil. In the past week I’ve also seen morel specials advertised at 715 — where they’ve offered the mushrooms at dinnertime, sauteed with pancetta and served over grilled WheatFields bread and Maytag polenta — and at Pachamama’s — where they showed them Friday on Facebook atop pan roasted walleye, along with roasted cauliflower and dill and onion bubble and squeak.

To buy morels to cook yourself, Pendleton’s Kaw Valley Country Market also has advertised morels in their newsletter, although in limited amounts. For availability call 843-1409.

Watch social media feeds and keep an eye on downtown sandwich boards to catch any remaining morel specials before what's left of the season is gone. And maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try and make more of those foraging types more than just Facebook friends — they're probably more likely to share than to give away their secret hunting spots.

The true morel (left) is distinguishable from false morels (right) by its hollow core. False morels have cottony or other weblike structures inside their stem and cap.

John Dean of Blind Tiger Brewery (left), Bryan "Bucky" Buckingham of 23rd Street Brewery and Geoff Deman of Free State Brewery after a day of brewing in Topeka. Photo from www.facebook.com/TheBlindTigerBreweryandRestaurant by Sara Shepherd

Lawrence brewers are ringing in American Craft Beer Week with two envelope-pushing creations I got to sneak-preview this morning. (Though neither one of these contains mint...)

For the second year, head brewers from Lawrence’s Free State and 23rd Street breweries and Topeka’s Blind Tiger Brewery collaborated to create a new beer in honor of the week, being celebrated nationwide Monday through May 19.

They named this year's concoction “Smoke on the Wheat." Light as straw and crisp as Perrier but with a roguish smoky overtone — and as 23rd Street head brewer Bryan “Bucky” Buckingham notes, a little baloney on the nose (...or maybe it sounds better to say charcuterie?) — Smoke on the Wheat is in the style of a 14th century Polish Grätzer ale. The beer, made with oak-smoked wheat and Polish yeast, is low-alcohol, high-carbonation and pours with a big, fluffy head.

A second collaborative brew, created by 23rd Street and members of the Lawrence Brewers Guild, will be tapped Monday at 23rd Street.

“LBG Collaboration No. 2” is a Belgian-style IPA. Or, if you want to get specific, an “amber-Belgian-wheat-IPA-Trappist-specialty-beer-kind-of-thing,” Buckingham says. “It’s got a lot going on.” Higher in alcohol, honey colored and slightly sweet smelling, Collaboration No. 2 surprises with a super-dry, hoppy finish.

These two brews and many others will be the focus of all kinds of activities next week. Here’s a rundown:

Monday

• Smoke on the Wheat tapped at 23rd Street, 3512 Clinton Parkway, Free State, 636 Massachusetts St., and Blind Tiger, 417 SW 37th St. in Topeka. (Each brewery held back a keg of Full Kimono, the result of last year's collaboration, to tap during the week, too.)

• LBG Collaboration No. 2 tapped at 23rd Street

Tuesday

• Five-course Free State beer dinner at so-hot-right-now Kansas City, Mo., restaurant Port Fonda, 4141 Pennsylvania St. Cost: $55. Reservations: 816-216-6462 or michaela@portfondakc.com.

Wednesday

• Beer Trivia Night at the Burger Stand, 803 Massachusetts St. With a Free State tap takeover on the lower level — and prizes!

Thursday

• Free State beer flowing (as usual) at Cottin’s Hardware Farmers Market, 4 to 6:30 p.m. at 1832 Massachusetts St.

(Firkin) Friday

• Firkin tapping for LBG Collaboration No. 2 with orange peel added, 6 p.m. at 23rd Street

Photo from feastofthefields.net by Sara Shepherd

Pachamama's executive chef and owner Ken Baker is preparing the menu for a four-course en plein air dinner next month on a Kansas farm.

The fourth-generation River Creek Farm, about nine miles east of Manhattan, will host its annual Feast of the Fields event June 8 in a growing cornfield. The event aims to promote awareness of agriculture by serving meats, produce and wines from the Flint Hills region in a natural setting. 

The cost is $100 per person. Event organizers say any proceeds will be reinvested into educational agrotourism programs and to assist local culinary students.

For more information or to reserve a seat, go online to feastofthefields.net.

There is a tequila world beyond “lick, shoot, suck” (and, inevitably, burn), and an upcoming event provides a good opportunity to foray into it.

Genovese’s annual Cinco de Mayo Tequila Tasting Dinner is planned for 6 p.m. Sunday at the restaurant, 941 Massachusetts St.

Genovese plans to serve a selection of Avión and Familia Camarena brand tequilas — silver, reposado and añejo, all produced in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico — paired with a four-course dinner menu. Geneovese chef and co-owner Armando Paniagua’s Mexican heritage is reflected in his planned dishes: shrimp and octopus cocktail, grilled mahi mahi tacos, barbacoa and chocolate Kahlua panna cotta.

The cost of the dinner is $50 per person, not including tax and gratuity. For reservations, call Genovese at 842-0300.

Boulevard's Tripel Julep by Sara Shepherd

There’s only a handful of kegs (sixth-barrels at that) in town, but Boulevard Brewing Company’s Kentucky Derby-inspired Tripel Julep — a very limited, experimental release not planned for bottling — is on tap in Lawrence.

Mariscos has one keg, and Dempsey’s says they have two — one tapped and one backup. (There may be more, most likely bars that routinely serve Boulevard's Smokestack Series brews. Feel free to add sightings in the comments section below.)

This is easily the most unusual beer I’ve had. (Maybe the most unusual beer anyone has had?) Boulevard took some of its Long Strange Tripel, aged it in bourbon barrels and infused it with mint. You’ll taste a lot of mint, the banana and citrus notes Belgians are known for, a little bit of sweetness, plus a hint of oak and bourbon.

Boulevard used 15 first-use barrels from the Four Roses Bourbon distillery to age the Tripel for about three months, according to tasting notes from the distributor. Brewers then added mint and filled about 50 kegs by hand. For having an alcohol content of more than 11 percent, it’s deceivingly light and easy-drinking.

Naturally, Kansas City has the lion’s share of Tripel Julep. For those of you venturing that way, The Pitch today published a list of restaurants where it’s on tap in KC.

Troy Moth photo by Contributed Photo

Miscellanea from this week on the web, including links to read before hitting this weekend's three F's: Final Fridays, Free State Film Festival and Farmer's Ball Finals.

Final Fridays

There’s big things planned for this month’s Final Fridays, including the grand opening of the new Cider Gallery in the Warehouse Arts District. Here’s our Final Fridays preview, featuring stunning black and white nature photography by Troy Moth (former shooter for GQ and Rolling Stone) at the Invisible Hand and paper bathing suits at where else but Wonderfair. The Final Fridays blog has a nifty gallery map and more gallery event summaries.

Free State Film Festival

The annual Free State Film Festival is this weekend, and its going to be a film geek's dream. According to the event website, expect “films, short films, panel discussions, staged readings, live music performances, an experimental film and music video showcase and a revival of the multimedia stage production, 'On Screen Offspring' featuring new original short plays by area filmmakers.” Our film critic says there will be plenty of the kind of films that are sure to get people talking.

Farmer’s Ball Finals

Loud and Local has teasers from the four bands that made the cut to play in the finals on Saturday. Larryville Chronicles also has a Q&A with their “dark-horse” pick, Brain Food, the headline for which includes the phrase “like electronic angels giving birth to a dark velvet thundercloud."

Beer name-change

It seems Boulevard has changed the name of its Boulevard Pilsner to KC Pils. Here are photos of the new bottles. (I haven't heard the theory behind the name change, but the photo description says something about hometown love. Could there be more name changes on the way?)

Haskell fashion

A fashion show was part of Haskell Indian Nation University’s recent Indigenous Empowerment Summit. Mark & Tree photography took great photos of all the styles, bold jumpsuits and bustiers included. (Hat tip to Ditto Resale Boutique for sharing the link on their Facebook page)

Baby chicks

My Bit of Earth blogger Meryl let her new chicks out in the yard for the first time ... and kindly took pictures so the rest of us can see how adorable they are.

Photo courtesy of the Roost by Sara Shepherd

The lead story in today's new Going Out section — Rise and shine: Lunch and dinner spots give breakfast a shot — focused on some of the more unexpected places you can now have a morning meal. While I didn't include it in this article, talking about downtown breakfast spots made me wonder, "What's the latest on the Roost?"

The Roost is the new breakfast and lunch restaurant planning to open in the former Milton's location, 920 Massachusetts St. I checked with the owners this week, who said their current target opening date is May.

They're working on renovations, getting all the proper permits, kicking off a Kickstarter project to raise money for a new hood system and testing and tweaking recipes for the menu. Once they do open, the plan is to serve from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week. When they have a firm opening date, I'm sure they'll share it on their Facebook page, where, in the meantime you can get a glimpse of those aforementioned recipe tests — morning-appropriate cocktails included!

"Granite Flats," featuring Lawrence native Annie Tedesco by Sara Shepherd

Lawrence native and Kansas University grad Annie Tedesco landed a lead role in the new BYUtv series “Granite Flats.”

After earning a degree in psychology with an emphasis in cognitive neuroscience, Tedesco made her way to Los Angeles, where she successfully auditioned for the comedy troupe the Groundlings, and has appeared in print ads, TV commercials and shows. In the past few years, Tedesco has had cameo appearances on shows including “Modern Family,” “The Mentalist” and “Bones.”

“Granite Flats” — set in 1962 and described as a family-friendly period drama with a sci-fi twist — premieres April 7 on Dish Network, DirecTV and select cable systems, and will be available online at byutv.org.

Here’s what viewers have in store, according to producers:

Granite Flats tells the story of a recently widowed single mom, Beth Milligan (Tedesco), and her 10 year old son Arthur, who move from California to the rural town of Granite Flats, Colorado to start a new life after the untimely and mysterious death of their Air Force pilot husband and father. From the moment of their arrival at the military base where Beth will be employed as a hospital nurse and Arthur will get a post-tragedy restart on life, the wholesome community is quickly revealed to be much more complex than at first glance. Standing alone outside on his first night in Granite Flats, Arthur is the sole witness to a fiery object hurdling across the sky, landing in the nearby hills. Is it a comet, like the budding young scientist believes, or something far more complicated? The spiraling consequences of what Arthur sees and the subsequent explosion that sets the stage for the plot to unfold propels Granite Flats into motion. Under the town’s wholesome surface, a sinister element is brewing that will challenge the faith and humanity of the show’s quirky characters, threaten to shatter any residual innocence left from the past decade and reveal the ubiquitous fear of nuclear attack which defined that era.

Here's a teaser:

Brenna McKedy, a Kansas University junior from Garden City, left, works on homework near the cereal bar at Java Break, 17 E. Seventh St. Sarina Geist, right, store manager, says cereal bars are popular on the coasts and suit Java Break’s college-age clientele. by Mike Yoder

For the second time in two weeks, Lawrence has landed a spot on a Zagat list.

Our very own Java Break, 17 E. Seventh St., is representing Kansas on Zagat’s latest online roundup, “The United States of Caffeine: 50 States, 50 Must-Try Coffee Shops.” It's No. 16 on the slideshow list, revealed Wednesday on the Zagat blog.

Here’s what caught the judges' attention:

“Lawrence has no shortage of cool-kid coffee shops, but Java Break is unique thanks to the 24-hour coffee-flowing-though-your-veins service. The ultra-kitschy decor is loved by hipster college kids sticking Starbucks to the man, and their drinks, like the cult-ish Hazelnut Chai, are made from scratch without preservatives or corn syrup. Bonus: there’s a cereal bar with a slew of toppings.”

I'm an almond milk latte gal myself and haven't tried the chai, but I'll vouch for the rest of this writeup. If you missed our recent Off The Beaten Plate feature on their Cereal Bar, check it out here.

The other Zagat mention? That would be Burger Stand making its "Best Burgers in 25 Cities" list.

Java Break’s Minty Hot Chocolate. by Nick Krug

Mike Davis, sous chef for Lawrence's Oread Hotel, carves a watermelon during the 2012 Edible Book Festival at the Shawnee County Public Library in Topeka. Contributed photo. by Sara Shepherd

Mike Davis, sous-chef at Lawrence’s Oread hotel, will conduct a free food carving demonstration next week.

The demonstration will be from 6-8 p.m. March 7 in the All Seasons Den at the Oread, 1200 Oread Ave. The event is free and open to the public.

Davis previously has conducted similar demonstrations for county libraries in Topeka and Salina, but this will be his first such demonstration in Lawrence, according to the Oread.

by Sara Shepherd

Morrissey's Lawrence show has been rescheduled for March 18, Liberty Hall announced today.

Doors open at 8 p.m., and the show starts at 9 p.m. All tickets for the original date will be honored. In the event you cannot attend the rescheduled date — sad! — Liberty Hall says a refund may be obtained by taking your tickets back to your point of purchase before March 18. No refunds will be issued after the show has played.

If you don't have tickets and want them, Liberty Hall has ticket information on its website.

Liberty Hall staff said they'd had the date penciled in for a while but were waiting to announce it until confirming the artist would be well enough for the show to go on. Morrissey has been battling a bleeding ulcer, which caused him to cancel his Feb. 2 show in Lawrence as well as eight others.

If you're a big enough Morrissey fan to desire more detail about his ulcer, he divulges a lot in a creatively crafted letter I highlighted in Friday's blog: "My ulcer is now under reins, even if neither asleep nor dead..."

The Burger Stand at the Casbah, 803 Mass., won Best Burger in the 2012 Best of Lawrence contest.

Zagat has taken note of something we Lawrencians have known for a while, if the Best of Lawrence contest is a fair indication. Zagat released its “Best Burgers in 25 Cities” list this week, and the Burger Stand at the Casbah, 803 Massachusetts St., is on it.

In a recent Zagat survey, the Zagat.com Blog feature explains, diners revealed they eat burgers more than four times per month. Thus, Zagat compiled the list in honor of the American favorite.

The Burger Stand joins restaurants and dives from Honolulu to Boston. (While Burger Stand is listed as being in Kansas City, I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt and assuming they’re implying the Kansas City area.)

As far is the quotes in Zagat’s summary of our local favorite go, they don’t indicate who or what they’re quoting. Maybe reader reviews? Anyway, here’s what they have to say:

“Outstanding” “gourmet” burgers and the “best” sides (“you can’t beat the truffle or duck-fat fries”) make this “cool” Lawrence joint a “new classic” whose “bustling” vibe “feels vital without being obnoxious”; service is “quick”, the bar stays open late most nights, and even if it’s not the cheapest patty-slinger around, you get to “indulge without emptying the bank.”

Kevin Anderson/Journal-World Photo.The Burger Stand, 803 Mass., creates a variety of signature ketchups. Truffle fries gets some chipotle cocoa ketchup added. by Kevin Anderson

by Sara Shepherd

Get well soon, Morrissey.

Doctors have diagnosed the British singer, who was hospitalized last week in Michigan, with a bleeding ulcer. While he's expected to recover soon, Morrissey in the meantime has cancelled six upcoming tour dates, including the show planned Saturday at Liberty Hall in Lawrence.

"Morrissey is expected to make a full recovery and thanks everyone concerned for their support during this time," according to an announcement on Liberty Hall's website.

Billboard wrote this weekend: "The former Smiths frontman — whose last album, "Years of Refusal," was released in 2009 — kicked off a U.S. trek last October in Boston. When asked by Billboard why he had decided to tour without a new album to support, he replied, 'Because a lot of people like me.'"

That's certainly the case in Lawrence, where we know a lot of people were looking forward to this show.

Hold onto those tickets, though. Liberty Hall says they're still working through details with Morrissey and his management but that they plan to reschedule. All tickets for the original date will be honored at the rescheduled date.

We'll let you know once we get any info on a rain check, hopefully in the next few days. Morrissey plans to resume his tour Feb. 9 in Las Vegas. Nationwide shows are planned through early March.

John Bourneuf, left, of Lawrence, and Maria Vopat, of Mission, have a taste of the Kansas Craft Brewers Exposition on Saturday at Abe and Jake’s Landing, 8 E. Sixth St., among hundreds of other beer enthusiasts. About 30 regional and national beer vendors were at the event, which sold out within 10 days of going on sale. by Richard Gwin

Mark your calendars for Jan. 29. Not only is it Kansas Day, it's the day tickets go on sale for this year's Kansas Craft Brewers Exposition at Abe & Jake's. And if it's as popular as last year — tickets sold out within 10 days — you'll want to get them fast.

The event is set for 4-8 p.m. March 2 at Abe & Jake's Landing, 8 E. Sixth St. (next to City Hall, in the Riverfront development). Tickets are $30, and you must be 21 or older to attend. For a list of locations to buy tickets, visit the expo's website, kscraftbrewfest.com.

About 720 people attended last year's expo, billed as the first of its kind in Lawrence and drawing about 30 regional and national beer vendors. The event, organized by the Kansas Craft Brewers Guild and Downtown Lawrence Inc., is a fundraiser for Downtown Lawrence.

Expect an afternoon of all things beer: commemorative sampling glasses and program booklets profiling the beers you're tasting, specialty glassware and other brewery memorabilia for sale, food for sale from select local vendors, guides to cheese and beer pairings from Hy-Vee, books on beer and brewing and guidelines on the Certified Beer Judge program.

Juniper berries are used in many European recipes for roasts and wild game. They also give gin its predominent flavor. by Sara Shepherd

I could write pages about how crazy my Christmas Eve/Christmas Day working/celebrating/driving/cooking schedule ended up this year, but I’ll stick to the part that involves juniper berries.

Long story short, I had to find a fairly simple slow-cooking recipe for Christmas dinner, or else. Regular pot roast didn’t seem special enough, and making braised lamb shanks was tempting but seemed daunting for six. When I found this recipe for baeckeoffe — a traditional Alsatian stew of lamb, pork and beef marinated a full day in wine — I knew it would be perfect. I also knew I didn’t have time to go on a wild goose chase for juniper berries, a key ingredient, but figured surely Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza (where we were headed for a pre-Christmas family outing anyway) would have some somewhere. Williams-Sonoma, $5, bingo!

I ended up with a fantastic, hearty Christmas dinner (which, sadly, I didn’t have time to take pictures of) — and a jar of juniper berries I hadn’t even put a dent in.

Last weekend I took to the web to find out what else I could make with the strange little spheres, which taste like pine tree if eaten whole but are much more subtle ground up or used for flavoring only, like dried bay leaves. Juniper berries — which provide the predominant flavor in gin — turned up in all kinds of European roasts and wild game dishes (which makes sense because of the woodsy flavor), plus a couple desserts that, honestly, didn’t sound very good.

This Italian pork roast, which I cooked for dinner Sunday, was delicious, super-easy and definitely worth sharing. I threw in potatoes and baby carrots for the last half hour of cooking to make a full meal.

The only problem? Even after using extra in the recipe — and having some roll away while taking photos — I still have an awful lot of juniper berries. I'm not sure about the practicality of nasturtiums in a gin and tonic, but if I decide to try this very tempting-looking one, at least I have the juniper berries.

Pork Roast Braised with Milk and Fresh Herbs (Maiale al Latte). In addition to fresh rosemary and sage, juniper berries help flavor the meat and sauce. by Sara Shepherd

Pork Roast Braised with Milk and Fresh Herbs (Maiale al Latte)

Simmering a pork roast with milk and a generous handful of herbs results in very tender meat with rich, silky juices. Many Italians will leave the milk curds that form alongside the meat where they are, but Ferrigno strains them out for a more refined sauce.

Start to finish: 3 ¼ hours (25 minutes active)

Servings: 6

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 (4 1/2- to 5-pound) boneless pork shoulder roast (without skin), tied

3 juniper berries, crushed

2 large rosemary sprigs

2 large sage sprigs

1 sprig fresh or 4 dried California bay leaves

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup dry white wine

3 cups whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 F with rack in middle.

Heat oil in a wide 5- to 6-quart ovenproof heavy pot over medium heat until it shimmers, then lightly brown roast on all sides with juniper berries and herbs, 8 to 10 minutes total. Add garlic and sprinkle roast with sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, then cook until garlic is golden, about 1 minute. Pour wine over roast and briskly simmer until reduced by half. Pour milk over roast and bring to a bare simmer.

Cover pot and braise in oven, turning roast occasionally, until tender (milk will form curds), 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Transfer roast to a carving board and loosely cover. Strain juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl (discard solids), reserving pot, and skim off fat. Return juices to pot and boil until flavorful and reduced to about 2 cups. Season with sea salt and pepper. Slice roast and serve moistened with juices.

Note: The pork can be braised 1 day ahead and chilled in liquid, uncovered until cool, then covered. To serve, bring to room temperature, then reheat and proceed with recipe.

(Recipe by Ursula Ferrigno from April 2008 issue of Gourmet, as listed at epicurious.com)

Culinary Hearts, photo courtesy of Van Go Inc. by Sara Shepherd

Lawrence chefs and restaurateurs Molly and Robert Krause are teaming up with Van Go Inc. to put on a Valentine’s dinner for a good cause.

The annual Culinary Hearts Valentine Dinner is set for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at Van Go, 715 New Jersey St. Tickets are $125 per person and include a three-course dinner, wine, beer and live music. Attire is “festive.” Seating is limited, and tickets should be reserved by Jan. 25 online at van-go.org or by calling 842-3797.

The dinner is a benefit for Van Go’s Go Healthy program.

According to the organization, 70 percent of its participants live in poverty and, as such, experience food insecurity and hunger. Go Healthy is Van Go’s year-round food, nutrition and healthy lifestyles program that aims to give teens tools they need to fight obesity and stay mentally fit.

Matt Poulton is owner of Queen Lizzy's Fish and Chips, winner of Best New Restaurant in the 2012 Best of Lawrence contest. by Mike Yoder

Some Lawrence folk from across the pond are collaborating to host Christmas dinner British-style — complete with figgy pudding and a visit from Father Christmas.

Queen Lizzy’s Fish and Chips Shop, 125 E. 10th St., and Brits, 929 Massachusetts St., have planned Traditional British Christmas Dinner events on two dates, Sunday and Dec. 16. For both events, doors open at 5 p.m. and dinner begins at 6 p.m. at Queen Lizzy’s. Tickets, which can be purchased at either business, are $38 for adults and $19 for children 15 and younger.

The figgy pudding, of course, is for dessert. Queen Lizzy’s chef and owner Matt Poulton, who is from England, said the traditional dish is made with raisins, currants and figs then drizzled with brandy butter. He added, "It's a delight."

Also on the menu is wine for adults, an appetizer of cherry and almond baked brie and a dinner of roast turkey, ham, Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, honey roasted parsnips, almond roasted brussels sprouts, gravy, sage and onion stuffing, pigs in blankets (British style) and buttered carrots and peas.

Poulton said Tuesday that plenty of tickets remained for Sunday but only a few are still available for Dec. 16.

“I thought it would be fun for a lot of expatriates to come to, and something the locals might find enjoyable.” he said. “We don’t have Thanksgiving in the UK, so our big thing is Christmas.”

Printmaker Patrick Vincent, one of the Lawrence Arts Center’s two artists in residence, is on a quest to turn as many Lawrencians into bugs as he can.

For free, residents can send Vincent their photo and the name of the bug they’d like to be, and he’ll create a print of their face on that bug’s body. Vincent gives an artist proof of the print to the subject, and keeps the linoleum carving he printed it with for himself. The plan is to use those carvings in a later installation.

Last time I checked with him, Vincent said he’d completed a number of bugs but was still hoping for more. Apparently, he says, a lot of people are kind of creeped out by the idea of seeing their face on a bug’s body ... which is part of the reason Vincent, who regularly uses animal themes in his artwork, picked bugs for this project. He says, "The theme of bugs is an invitation for people to connect with a part of the natural world that is often ignored or reviled."

I thought the project sounded fun, not creepy, and sent Vincent my own picture and request to be a praying mantis. (Praying mantises clearly are not smiley bugs, and this was the only demure picture I seem to have taken in the digital age. Vincent left the veil on, which is actually kind of funny given that female mantises have been known to eat their mates.) Here I am:

Sara as a praying mantis for Patrick Vincent's Bugs project by Sara Shepherd

Here’s Vincent and his own bug rendition of himself, as a honeybee:

Printmaker Patrick Vincent's self-portrait for his Bugs project by Sara Shepherd

Fellow artist in residence Monika Laskowska, incidentally, went with the potato beetle for her bug portrait. To submit your photo for the Bugs project, Vincent provides more information and instructions on his website.

One of six 2012 Phoenix Awards by Sally Piller. Submitted photo. by Sara Shepherd

We profiled each of this year’s five Phoenix Award winners in Sunday’s paper and here on Lawrence.com. But there’s another key artist involved with these awards — the one who makes the hardware that the winning artists take home.

The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission picks a different artist each year to create the actual Phoenix Awards, and this year it was printmaker and Old West Lawrence resident Sally Piller. Piller was commissioned to make six pieces — one for each award winner and one to display at the Lawrence Arts Center with previous Phoenix Awards.

Piller described her process for creating the unique prints-slash-sculptures:

She created six color woodblock prints — using oil-based ink on Japanese washi paper — and mounted each on the back of one of the solid maple color separation blocks used to create the prints (the photo below shows a step in the process). The borders are hand-carved, rolled with oil-based ink and accented with gold-colored leaf.

Sally Piller's Phoenix Awards in progress. Submitted photo. by Sara Shepherd

She mounted the prints using gesso and rice paste, then protected them with floating glass attached with rosette screws. Here are the finished awards lined up at Sunday's reception for the winners.

The 2012 Phoenix Awards by Sally Piller. Submitted photo. by Sara Shepherd

Alex Pope by Sara Shepherd

On Saturday, over in Johnson County, a library is playing host to what has to be one of the more unusual events they’ve had.

Butcher and charcuterier Alex Pope will butcher half a hog (like a side of beef, only pork) in a public demonstration beginning at 2 p.m. at the Johnson County Central Resource Library, 9875 W. 87th St., Overland Park. Pope owns Kansas City, Mo.’s, Local Pig, an artisan meat-cutting and sausage shop dedicated to locally and humanely raised meats including beef, pork, chicken, duck, turkey, quail, rabbit, lamb and goat.

The library promises real knives, real meat. All ages are welcome, though parental discretion is advised. The event is free, and registration is not required.

"Whole Beast Butchery," one of Alex Pope's favorite food books. by Sara Shepherd

But wait — there is a connection between beast and books. Pope “learned his trade in the best way,” the library announcement says, “by reading books.”

During the event, Pope is expected to talk about how meat makes it from farm to table, demonstrate his butchering techniques and share what he learned about the trade from reading books.

The library provides this link to some of Pope’s favorite food titles.