I remember one of my first fieldtrips in kindergarten. We went to the fire station. It must have been close to the school as we walked there. Every one had a “buddy” that we were partnered with. We all held hands with our buddy and walked down the sidewalk two by two.
I remember my kindergarten teacher too. She wore frosted lipstick and had a platinum, perfectly coiffed, beehive up do. She was so shiny. She wore dresses and sensible heels and looked like she stepped right off the “Cakes and Pies” page of a 70’s Betty Crocker cookbook.
It was probably a great fieldtrip. There’s this one thing, though, which I remember more than the red fire trucks, awesome fire pole and real life firemen. That “one thing” was the kid who was my buddy. He was the boy in our class known for nose picking. This boy was also my hand holding buddy. Icky.
I still love field trips and these days, since I’m all grown up, I get to pick my buddy. Me and my buddy’s (Lovey and the youngest and eldest Chilie) took a fieldtrip into Dallas last weekend and found ourselves at FM 1410 B. Tommy “Spiceman” Spicer sells an eclectic assortment of veggies and herbs to local restaurants. He even grows some of them himself in a garden out back in the shadow of downtown Big D. He’s a Delta swamp musician too and impromptu melodies from his custom, self-made “guitar” are an additional treat.
He’ll sell you a bag, half a pound or so, of a beautiful assortment of mushrooms for $10 cash. He’ll also give you some ideas for preparing them if you ask.
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(I’m back from a brief interlude to catch and liberate the cicada that was bouncing off everything in the kitchen. Momma Cat brought it in and you could hear it pinging off the hanging copper pots and ricocheting off the ceiling fan. It was like magic gone mad in a scene from Nanny McPhee. Whew!)
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Here are the beautiful mushrooms, haricots verts (French green beans), fettuccine and tomatoes.
We like the mushrooms prepared simply.
Sauté sliced garlic in olive oil just till fragrant. Add a couple tbsp.’s of butter and heat till melted. Add a glug of white wine. Add the mushrooms and sauté momentarily. Add the sliced tomatoes and sauté just till heated through. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over prepared fettuccine. Serve good bread to sop up the sauce.
The verts were sautéed in butter with orange slices (orange zested and pith cut off), zest and toasted pine nuts. Salt and pepper to taste.
Beautiful food - simply.
Do you want to go on a fieldtrip to see Tommy? Look for this place, FM 1410 B, in the corner shopping center of 4901 Bryan at Fitzhugh in Dallas.
The boys will greet you at the door.
That’s just the kind of place it is.
And make sure you go hungry. I’ll tell you why later…
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