Lessons From Fencing Class

Hello blog reader people! Hope your day is going well so far. Man, this shorter week (because of Labor Day) has sure gone by a lot faster than I was prepared for. At least we are rushing toward Saturday--my dear friend is getting married then! Woo-hoo!

But, I figured before celebrating with champagne and ... uh ... champagne*, let's reflect. Weddings signal the beginning of a life united together and in Our Lord. I remember when planning my own wedding, it wasn't difficult to get carried away with things like decorations, or food, or the infamous dress. However, it is most important to remember that a wedding is about the marriage with that person you love very much.

Being married will be hard, challenging, frustrating, and, at times upsetting. But instead of fighting, abandoning each other, or taking to bad habits, you and your partner should always choose to work together to fix the problem.

Or, you could do what we do to keep the marriage going: sword fight.

That's right everybody! It's time for lessons (and a couple pics) from fencing class! Get excited!

LESSONS FROM FENCING CLASS:

-If you are thinking that you have run out of gift ideas, try something unexpected. I bought Stephen and I fencing lessons, and he totally loved it! I was the cool wife. I had everything going for me. Great anniversary idea, ladies.

-Wear clothes that you will want to keep outside afterwards. Fencing makes you an unusually powerful and deadly ratio of sweaty-to-smelly. Either do laundry immediately, or regret it.

-Fencing swords hurt. Not a lot, but just enough so that every time I said "oww" from anticipation of someone poking me, I lost a little bit of that "cool wife" thing. Don't do this. Wait to actually be poked before saying oww, and try to be in actual pain. And, definitely don't say oww when you are only trying to put the face mask on. You lose major cool points there.

-The fencing jackets have a built-in, thong-like adjustable strap. Make sure your fencing jacket fits just right or is a little big. I'll let you figure out why.

-Face masks: also surprisingly sweaty. Prepare yourself with a bandana, as you cannot wipe the sweat off your brow at any time without knocking the mask off. You especially cannot try doing this during a match.

-If you happen to have a young whipper-snapper of only 16 as your teacher, try not to take offense when he mocks that hardly anyone in the adult beginning fencing class can touch their toes. He is young. He has no idea what's coming.

-Chest protectors are VERY important. Don't forget to wear them.

-Chest protectors only protect the chest.

-Listen carefully to the type of sword you will be working with. It affects your fighting strategy. A foil is like the sword the Three Musketeers use, and is meant to poke people in the torso only. You also have what is called "priority," which means that once the person who makes the first move is blocked (or "perried"), they can't get a point until the other person tries to make a move and you defend yourself against them. Sabre is the second type of sword. It is like a pirate sword, and your arms and legs are a target. These fights tend to go faster, as it is more "free:" anyone can poke anybody else at any time. Lastly, an epee is a bigger (and heavier) foil, and is good for tall people like my husband to repeatedly win matches against smaller, weaker individuals that he might have to drive home with.

-Be aggressive. The best fighters seem to be.

-Take out all of your anger at fencing. You can barely see the other guy's face. Sticking your tongue out at him while fighting is a total possibility, and I would dare say encouraged.

-Footwork is crucial to staying balanced and moving in the most powerful way. It will also be the source of major leg cramping about 36 hours after your first class. Prepare yourself with ice and stretching.

-Enjoy your moment of shining glory when you beat your husband in a match. He will claim it is because of the type of sword and fighting, but you will know it is because you couldn't lose 'em all.

Posed picture time!


Where we took our class



Me, post match. You understand the sweat thing now.



Stephen and me at the end of class. Awwww.



These lessons are certain not advice for marriage or for working through problems, but it was definitely a lot of fun to share this experience with the man I love. We recommend it!

Plus, my husband can never take that win away from me.



*What else do you celebrate with, really?

.

Those Lazy Nights

We all enjoy a little bit of laziness, and our opportunities for lazy summer days and evenings are dwindling.

Good thing this sad excuse for an article, How To Spend A Lazy Summer Day, has me covered.

Not.

So, I want to hear: What do I have to fit in to my summer to make sure I've reached my laziness quotient before it's too late? What have you been meaning to do (or not do) during these summer months?

Thanks for your help. You know, because I'm too lazy to think of anything right now.

Spoiled in Summer (and All Year Long)

It took a dinner last week for me to realize how truly spoiled I am.

We roasted potatoes in herbs and a bit of olive oil. We sauteed fresh green beans with toasted almonds and heirloom tomatoes. We grilled up some steaks. And, we bought pretty much all of it at a farmer's market.

Stephen and I are big fans of these markets. Every summer these markets will crop up around the Fresno area with the best tasting selection of produce this side of, well...I guess the rest of the year.

Fresno has farmer's markets year round. Which means, you might be as spoiled as I am.

For the few months where fruits and veggies like blueberries, tomatoes and summer squash are in season, you can enjoy them knowing they didn't travel very far to get to you. At other times of the year, equally in-season, super-healthy and ultra-flavorful food, grown down the street from where you live, awaits consumption by YOU, you lucky duck.

We live in such an agriculturally-rich area. I'm as guilty as anyone else who often doesn't realize that what is grown locally, in season, is way better than what I can pick up at the super market, year-round. And, living a block away from the Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market means that I get all the benefits of the farmer's market year-round by looking out my window. Plus, they take credit cards.

The more time Stephen and I spend cooking for ourselves, the more we realize that we miss certain foods when they are not readily available (or affordable!) This circumstance must be that much more difficult for those who don't have access to fresh fruits and veggies grown in the valley, or must wait for shipments to arrive to their local megamart. We're finding that a lot of food is worth the wait.

A favorite farmer's market of ours is the Old Town Clovis Farmer's Market, which runs every Friday (5-ish to 9-ish) until September 10. You can make a day of going to any of the farmer's markets in town, since many offer entertainment and ready-made meals, too. Make sure to take a visit if you haven't before (or in a long time).

It's one thing to want to try new recipes involving produce any time of the year, but it's another thing completely to take advantage of the summer fruits and veggies while they're around. I want to know: What are your favorite recipes using summer produce? Do you have a go-to seasonal dish that is worth using the best that summer farmer's markets have to offer? Please share!

Classically Cool

After a long winter and pleasant spring, we are really looking forward to combating the heat with activities like barbecues and ball games. The best component of these activities, besides family and friends? I think we all know the answer to that one: consuming cooling libations. Yet, though this should be simple, I found a way to begin my summer torn.

In the last couple weeks, I have come across some recipes for new summer cocktails*. Yesterday, while trying to decide between The Melontini or a Summer Solstice Sake Sparkler, something hit me.

I thought about all of the new ingredients I would need to make these drinks: this juice, that mixer, random pieces of fruit. Things like that. Even with all of this work, these drinks will likely never hold a candle to the great mixed drinks of yesteryear, the classics, developed out of regional ingredients and flavorful alcohol. The cocktails I was considering were meager attempts to be the next big thing. They cannot succeed.

Think about the drinkers, nay, the culinary pioneers of long ago and all the classic drinks they invented. Some were out of necessity, others to highlight a new fermentation. They didn’t base their creations around tasteless, but alcoholic, vodka, or search high and low for a strawberry-kiwi-banana juice with pineapple schnapps to hide any harsh alcohol taste.

True mixologists sought to find the best flavors, and even textures, to compliment their liquor of choice. The non-alcoholic elements were intended to serve the premier ingredient, not hide it. It was way more cooking than chemistry lab.

And what was I going to do? I was going to aggravate this ongoing social problem by putting more money into the mixer-makers' pockets. Well, no more!

With this revelation, we have totally reworked our summer drink strategy. We have recently bought all the natural ingredients, including Agave Syrup, for a proper Margarita. Never have we been so concerned about the type of tequila that was in our bar. We seek truth, the drinks that have so much more soul than any slushy concoction I may find in Real Simple. After all, these drinks are classics for a reason.

How about you? Have you felt this tug of the heart for classic drinks? Is your favorite drink a gone-by-the-wayside-type, or is it a new-fangled, juice-driven cocktail? Or, are you upset because you read this whole blog entry hoping that I would talk about wine or beer? (Don't worry; their time will come.)

Oh, and if you’re with us, check out the origins of 11 classic drinks, or the backgrounds of the famous gentlemen on your favorite liquors.


*Did I say some? I mean, like, 2,643. If I was ambitious, I would get to like 5% of these recipes from now until winter.

A Celebration of Fresno Wine-o's

I like wine. This is no secret. So, when my dad asked me to go to “A Celebration of Wine” yesterday, I was more than on board. (Thanks, Melinda, for the free tickets!)

“A Celebration of Wine” is a casual, fun, wine-tasting event to benefit the CSU, Fresno Viticulture and Enology Department. Over 90 wineries across the state help to create the good time. There were definitely a lot of local wineries there, too, and the fundraiser had tons of regular folk across the Valley looking to support local business.*

It also had the usual Fresno Wine-o’s.

Oh, you’ve never heard of the Fresno Wine-o’s? They really are everywhere. Let me help you identify them (which is a group to which I often belong).

Fresno Wine-o’s…

Basically worship wine: Wine bars are made into shrines in our very homes. Tuscan décor litters every available corner of the house. Even the bathroom has pictures of grapes.
Love anything Italian: We eat it up. If you say that it is an Italian fermentation process, the grapes are imported from Italy, or that your half-Italian grandmother kicks every barrel before harvest, your wine will sell like hotcakes. I don’t know if it’s envy or longing for heritage.
Claim knowledge like we are vintners: From all of the wine we have consumed over the years, we know we should have retained some bit of information about grape selection, harvest, or blending. So, when you talk about all that stuff, we affirm you whole-heartedly. After all, we drink a lot of wine, and would hate to look uneducated (or irresponsible).
Usually don’t know what they are drinking: This is, of course, unless you are one of the super-qualified professionals at one of the many winery booths we visited. Fresno Wine-o’s are happy to know they are drinking a smooth red. Once you get into spices, fruit undertones, or harsh tannens, we kind of glaze over and nod politely (and we claim this state is from having one too many).
Cook with wine: and sometimes they even add it to their food! (Can’t take credit for that one; that’s a Julia Child paraphrase).

Anyway, I anticipate that summer will be filled with lots of rose wines and cool evenings with friends and the new hubby. And, hey, if you become a Fresno Wine-o, too, over the course of the summer, all the better. It’s more fun on this side.

Not a wine person? Here is your summer drink reward for sticking through the article: Grilled Pineapple Mojito


*Including Silkwood Wines, which wins best serving size (thanks, Molly!)