truffles & texans

who's a good boy?, originally uploaded by mjane.

today i joined inger on a truffle-themed trip in le var. i never really knew what truffles were before today. if you've never had them, simply put, they are a sort of cancer that grows on the roots of various types of oak trees. they can only grow in certain parts of the world, i.e. the south of france and regions of italy. you can spot truffle-infected trees by their brownish-colored leaves. their leaves are brown because the trees are sick - makes sense as truffles are basically parasites. as they are rare and apparently taste good, too, one kilo of truffles today cost about 800 euros. they are hunted by a truffle hunter and their dogs or wild boars.


sheep, originally uploaded by mjane.

hay, originally uploaded by mjane.

anyway, so i go on this day trip that is organized by a woman called kathy that inger knows. kathy turns out to be an american chef who lives in julia child's house near valbonne. and once a year or something, people pay her something like 2,000 euros to stay at her house for a week and learn how to cook and go on food-themed day trips. today was all about truffles.

we met up at her house this morning where a van would pick us up. the people staying at her house this year were all from texas. one couple worked for texas instruments and the other couple was retired from the oil business. we all hopped in the van and took off to check out a few different villages in le var. first, we went to this olive oil shop and saw how they make olive oil. we only spent an hour there and then headed to la gite de france, a bed and breakfast with a truffle farm.

the truffle daughter, originally uploaded by mjane.

this place is a trip. the first thing you see once you get to the driveway is a statue of a dog. they also have their own chapel. at the back of the property, they keep all these dogs, sheep, chickens, ponies, and pigs. inside the house is decorated uniquely. there's a boar's head once you walk in the door. there are scatters of porcelain dogs, dog paintings, guns hanging on the wall and really cool ivory and chocolate leather seats. talked with the richard, the oil business man, who i found very funny and charming. he's part of some group called the century club. you become a member if you've visited one hundred countries or more. he said that general eisenhower was said to have been prescribed by one doctor, "a jigger o' whiskey a day," which richard supposes is, "better than not having any... but then again, the smoking didn't help." he was stationed in the philippines after the war in 1946. he mentioned how much he enjoys watermelon seeds. i also learned how to make truffle-filled scrambled eggs... which we ate for lunch along with truffle-stuffed filet mignon, truffle mashed potatoes, truffle on toast, truffle & chestnut soup, truffle'd brie with grapes, apple pie, and vanilla ice cream. that is the only meal i'm having today. and then after our coffees and digestifs, we went out in the truffle farm and hunted some with this hunter named lionel and his cute black doggies. it was very interesting.

front: richard and his wife; back: two dogs licking each other and a rose, originally uploaded by mjane.

sniffing for truffles, a dog's life, originally uploaded by mjane.

we left la gite around 3pm and went to this vineyard called chateau roubine and did a tour of their property and did some wine tasting. having a heavy lunch and lots of alcohol creates drowsiness. too tired to socialize and pay attention to interesting facts and stories regarding wine. i did a lot of tasting. inger bought some bottles of rosé and red.

pig, originally uploaded by mjane.

by the time we got back to kathy's house, it was 7pm. i was stoked that mackenzie was already there waiting to pick us up, especially since i anticipated him being stuck in traffic with NATO in town.

my shadow originally uploaded by mjane.