Warm Wild Mushroom Farro Bowl + new site!

with king oyster bacon. and pistachio pesto.

I did it, guys. I finally gave my site a new look. In fact, it even has a new domain: I’ve been asked so many times why I named my blog “le jus d’orange”, which was mostly an impulsive, sentimental reason due to drinking my mom’s freshly squeezed orange juice all my life, but let’s be honest – who can pronounce this? I still remember when I met Yossy on location on a shoot, and she asked if I had a blog. I barely squeaked it out – “um, le jus d’orange???” My face turned red and I berated myself mentally for having such an obscure, weird name. Well, that’s all in the past – and now, my blog name is still  le jus d’orange!!! Why? More sentimental reasons. I feel like you all know me by le jus d’orange, and there’s something special about continuity. I’ll just have to learn how to pronounce it, and pronounce it with confidence. However, you’ll notice that the domain name changed. I’ve decided to put everything under the umbrella of “bettysliu.com”. I’m a professional wedding photographer by trade, and from the beginning my blog has always been visually focused. There’s a certain elegance in photographing food that I can’t turn away from. I joke with my blogging friends that sometimes the photography motivates and inspires me more than the food does. Well, now on my homepage you can see my personally curated selection of food documentation. Redirect is in full effect, so previous links to lejubdorangeblog.com should automatically redirect – if you see any broken links, please let me know!!! Please update your readers, RSS feeds, etc. And if you have any feedback – I’d love to hear it :).

WordPress followers / subscribers: I’m not sure you were all imported to my new mailing list – please take the time to enter in your email address so that you don’t miss any recipes. You’ll have received an email for this post because I posted on my previous domain as well, but moving forward an email will only go out to my mailing list. Sorry about that!
It’s August. I feel like on cusp of every new month, I’m always taken by surprise that the previous month was already over. August begins to whisper at the end of summer, the end of sumptuous ripe berries or glistening figs. When did the strawberry season end? How are they looking sad already at the market? I still recall a trip in mid-June, when strawberries literally burst in my mouth, juice dribbling down as if it were a peach. I feel almost guilty for the little mental dance I’m doing, because with the end of summer means the start of fall. My favorite season. When I first starting learning harp, I played this almost mystical piece by Hasselmans – Feuilles d’Automne. It was lovely and brought me images of shadowy woods, wood nymphs, and fireflies floating around, lighting a path of fallen leaves both treacherous and exciting. I know summer’s not over yet (over a month left) and I’m going to buy out all the stone fruits and tomatoes I see, but I can’t help but feel giddy with anticipation. So I made a warm mushroom bowl. Light enough that I can consume it comfortably now, but with enough comfort and substance to bring me in the frame of mind of fall.

Remember that time I went to an amazing mushroom farm in New Hampshire and stumbled away holding a box of beautiful mushrooms?
That same place we’re going to visit and learn about foraging mushrooms in my upcoming workshop? Well, I took all of the mushrooms I brought back from that trip and sautéed them in for a delicious farro bowl. On the advice of Eric, I sliced up my king oysters thinly and then sautéed them with smoked salt and some paprika, let it dry and crisp up – and there you are! BACON. It’s crispy and undeniably similar in taste to bacon. Because it is so thin, king oyster bacon doesn’t have the thick texture of real bacon, but this means it’s lighter and perfect for topping a salad or a bowl of grains.
In this bowl, I’ve got: lion’s mane sautéed like pieces of steak, blue oyster mushrooms, tiny juicy elm mushrooms, and king oysters. You can see what I did with yellow oyster mushrooms here. I whipped up an easy pistachio pesto and topped the grains and mushrooms with fresh scallions (always) and king oyster bacon. Simple, delicious meal. I brought it over to a dinner party and it was a hit 🙂



Mushrooms are amazing. There are so many different varieties and flavors – did you know there are lobster mushrooms that taste like lobster? I’m going to try to get my hand on some and make a lobster mushroom mac and cheese. Doesn’t that sound so good? I wish I had enough expertise to be able to venture out in the woods to forage mushrooms, but I don’t – so I’m excited to go on a mushroom foraging adventure and learn about edible mushrooms this fall! Those interest – we have only two spots available. If you’re interested, send me an email or register here.

RECIPE: Warm Mushroom Farro Bowl with Pistachio Pesto and King Oyster Bacon 

Pistachio-basil pesto
1/2 cup minced thai basil
1/2 cup pistachios, lightly toasted
½ cup olive oil
1 tbsp lime juice
zest of half a lime
1/2 tsp salt, to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup parmesan cheese to taste

1| Food processer: Place all ingredients except parmesan and oil in food processor and process. Stream in oil at a steady pace.
2| Mortar and pestle: grind up garlic, salt, zest. Add basil leaves and grind. Add pistachios and grind. Tip into a bowl. Add in half the parmesan cheese and lime juice. Gently stir in oil until it is thick in consistency. Add in remaining cheese, to taste.

King Oyster Bacon
king oyster mushrooms, sliced very thinly
smoked salt
paprika

1| Heat up a cast-iron pan with some vegetable oil. Sprinkle salt and paprika on mushroom slices.
2| When vegetable oil is sufficiently heated, add pieces of mushroom in one layer, not touching. Fry for about 1 minute, then flip and cook until golden brown. Set aside on a paper towel lined plate and let dry – about 30 seconds. It will crisp up.
*Note – there is also a method using the oven that produces thicker versions – see here.

Mushrooms
Varied mushrooms (1.5 cups)
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 fresh scallions, chopped finely
cooked farro

1| Melt butter in olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
2| When butter begins to foam and brown, add mushrooms and cook, covered, until juices begin to release, approximately 3 minutes.
3| Uncover and cook until mushrooms are deeply browned. Add in 1tbsp light soy sauce. Place mushrooms over faro and top with pesto and fresh scallions.

Bowls: ogusky ceramics / wooden board: michael’s woodcraft