Out & About #771 | Week #91 Quarantine Update Feat. Chestnut Chiffon Cake

And so concludes yet another week of chaos - unforeseen and unwelcome, with perhaps the only premonitions being building tensions from the client side.

I struggled to find periods of calmness throughout the week. Despite the lack of virtual meetings, the days were not devoid of tasks demanding my constant attention. Departing my in-home office for longer than my allocated lunch period was unthinkable. Yet, my desires to realize culinary concepts far surpassed the resurfacing need for rest and burnout prevention.

Creations of the week included:

1) Chestnut Chiffon Cake

Wanoka's cloud-like creation resounded in my memory: springy, porous sponge and an airy piping of whipped cream. I set out to relive the experience, dabbling into oil-based formulas for the first time since pancakes.

​My preference for butter has been made known on this space; being a mix of fat and solids, it tends to result in denser, more substantial slices. On the contrary, oil is entirely liquid in nature, claiming lighter properties due to difference in density.

I resorted to Sunday's roster of artful bakery formations for a guideline, then began the experiment, substituting ground chestnut for mugwort powder.

Of 146g of finely pulsed chestnut, 10g was incorporated into the batter. The remainder was mixed with icing sugar and milk - alternately added to test consistency - (and lastly rum!) to obtain a pipe-able cream topping.

​Unlike my really rushed Houjicha Roll Cake base, this time I took heed to stabilize the egg whites properly. Furthermore, the cake was cooled upside down to prevent shrinkage.

​I had doubled Sunday's recipe and included the leftover yolk(s) in my rendition, as it would save me the trouble of finding an alternate use (ref lemon mousse) for them later on.
The results were impressive for a cake constructed during working hours. Bouncy was the base, albeit a bit damp at its inner circumference. The chestnut cream was thick, flavourful, and just potent enough to tie me over for the rest of the season. (Yes, you read that right: no more chestnut. At least not this year.)

2) Rice Krispies

The classic no-bake Christmas recipe emerged almost instantaneously after procurement of the holiday cereal.
Lowering the marshmallow content and upping melted butter meant a drop in sweetness and a crunchier finish reminiscent of 米通/puffed rice batons.

3) Cheese Cookies

As a cookie devotee and firm believer of the sweet-savoury pairing, I couldn't resist another kitchen venture at seeing yet another of Sunday's recent uploads.

Amidst a hurried grocery run, I reluctantly picked up a $6.99 jar of PC White Cheddar seasoning blend. It bore an odour nearly identical to that of Smartfood's White Cheddar popcorn (oh, how minimally artificial flavours vary!).

Once again, I doubled the recipe. This time around, it called for one egg yolk. But rather than reserving the white, the extra protein was incorporated into the dough. Half was portioned out and formed into Swiss cheese triangles, while the remainder was mixed with food colouring to yield a cheddar-like appearance.

The cookies were adorable to gaze upon, and, frankly, quite similar to the processed slices seen in store. That said, they didn't evoke nearly as much cheesiness as I had hoped. This may be owed to my choice of cheese powder, or the absence of cheese altogether. Untested troubleshooting considerations comprise of: utilizing only yolk in the next attempt and swapping out some butter for cream cheese.

Deviations from routine were frequent: increased consumption of chocolate (Ice Wine Truffles!!!) and mall errands in preparation for the upcoming holiday season.

I had yet to step inside Erin Mills Town Centre since the interior had been furnished with festive décor. The mall had performed a splendid job, with twinkling bulbs hoisted onto the pillars as well as an extravagant tree in the centre.

​Soothing tremors felt from high winds was a hot Roasted Milk Tea with Pudding from CoCo, in which the pudding had been forgotten. It was not a fault of the bubble tea franchise, but rather stemmed from my own absentmindedness in order placement through the app.

​Midweek progress meetings and an empty fridge summoned shawarma via UberEats. Lazeez's Beef Donair Wrap and Chicken on the Rocks were creamy, hearty picks capable of rounding out hunger swiftly. That said, their constituents also acted as catalysts in the digestion process, stimulating foreboding rumbles in the stomach.

​Undertaken towards the end of the work week was a series of back-to-back errands.

The trip commenced at Canadian Tire, where the wait for skates sharpening was made more entertaining by the company of Impulse Bear, a larger-than-life-sized huggable teddy. 

​Next on the list was Oakville Place, decorated in a similarly sensational manner; photos with the jolly old man could be secured within Santa's Imaginarium.

​At long last, I made my way to Loblaws. In spite of the visit scheduled around lunchtime, shopper volumes resided on the high side. Holiday baking and other celebratory activities were indeed in full swing this year.

In the early evening hours, I began to make my way downtown. Congestion was utterly appalling, but emails and general work tasks had prevented travel during off-peak hours.

​The final destination promised food: feasting with orangecane and rounding out the evening at The Roundhouse (the latter being my optimistic suggestion).

​Our hearts swelled with excitement as the Holiday Cookie Box was, well, unboxed. Adjacent was a wax paper bag filled with three canelés, a special request that Issho Bakery had been kind enough to accommodate in regards to both creation and delivery. ​The surface was crunchier this time around, and insides equally, if not more spectacularly, custardy and scrumptious.

​Dinner notes had been consolidated by orangecane prior to our reunion. Encompassing the theme of noodles with broth, a handful of options were presented for discussion and review. She had summarized nearby eateries with conciseness, noting the type of cuisine and major intersection - essentially the main factor for decision-making.
We had contemplated walking to be the mode of transportation, though, in review of frustrations with the parking situation faced, the city's renowned delivery service was proposed for peace of mind.

Shareable dishes were selected from NaiNai Noodles' UberEats page. Kwetiau Goreng, also known as Stir Fried Flat Rice Noodles, was an Indonesian take on the classic Cantonese 乾炒牛河 (Beef Chow Fun). Slick, soy-seasoned rice noodles were perceived in the dish, bearing a high degree of likeliness to the Chinese variations I've tasted in my lifetime. However, the noodles appeared far softer in comparison, disintegrating upon contact without any sort of resistance.

​I had veered towards the Bakso Sapi without hesitation. The vermicelli bowl was the closest I would come to pho, offering a savoury broth with bouncy beef balls. Orangecane remarked of a heavy presence of lemongrass within its base, while I, famished at that point, expressed indifference. Reserving the dish for consumption the next day, it was revealed that the broth had not only incorporating a generous dose of monosodium glutamate, but an abhorrent amount of pepper. These properties had been camouflaged on the first day entirely.

Salad Mangga had also been requested to share. The mango, red pepper, and red onion mix was packaged in a container with undeniably sticky edges. Lining the box was a single sheet of sauce-saturated romaine leaf, but beyond this, there were no other vegetables witnessed.

​In general, I had found the noodle dishes quite pricey for their portion size. They were flavourful, but flavoured in excess, failing to align with the desired image in mind. I was appreciative that spice levels could be customized for each dish though, accomodating tolerances across the party.

I proceeded to gravitate towards two Fudge-Covered Mint Oreos as dessert. They were hefty morsels of cream and wafer, leaving me glutted for some period of time.

Slowly but surely, I convinced orangecane to embark on a trip into the wild. Braving snowy missiles, slushy sidewalks, and foggy lenses (me), we arrived at The Rec Room to find a peculiarly peaceful games floor. Lineups were nonexistent, but so was physical distancing in the compact space.

I reaped the rewards of forgotten credits on the Pump It Up! machine, while orangecane graced me with my second-ever jackpot on Kung Fu Panda Dojo Mojo. 

I awoke to distinctly above seasonal temperatures on Saturday, but was also made known of high wind speeds brewing away. POLAR had been cancelled for the evening, with tickets being acknowledged for entry on any other day of the event - no reservation required.

My morning plans remained consistent: Pilates had been shifted one day earlier given availability of class slots. Studio Bon's new unit was brighter and more spacious than their previous, with pristine white walls and tail ceilings with rows of spotlights encased in black. The establishment now adopted an open concept, utilizing windows for illumination and removing physical barriers of separation to maximize space and increase visibility. This format ensured easy access to the equipment shelf as well as awareness of class participants in the space, though removed any sense of privacy normally found with private or semi-private sessions held behind closed doors.
​At the entrance was shoe-changing section, complete with slippers positioned on the step above; a series of cabinets separated the class floor from the waiting area, on which the contract tracing/sign-in sheet and sanitizer could be found for population. The path would lead one to the reception desk, where fee schedules and timetables could be found. Instructors waiting for their next class would reside behind the desk, providing assistance where necessary. Between the reception area and class floor was a single washroom stall, installed in a narrow corridor with mini stairs in between the toilet/sink and entrance.

Checking in with the instructor who had led my one-and-only Tuesday morning class, I was dismayed to learn that not only had my Sunday to Saturday swap not been executed, but there were no further class availabilities for the day. The studio owner was prompt in offering a complimentary make-up session, though I was reluctant to leave after having already embarked on the 46-kilometre journey. Furthermore, there were few instances - if any at all - that could accommodate the additional class. I was offered a private session later in the day; the only caveat was enduring until 1 PM.

The first hour was spent logging recollections of the week past and extending recommendations to a friend visiting the West Coast for business. As my stomach began to rumble, I straightened up from the driver's seat and opted to undertake a trek along the nearby Betty Sutherland Trail.
For the most part, it seemed to assume to go-to choice for locals residents, in particular dog-walkers and middle-aged joggers. 

Views were akin to sauntering about the Credit River, albeit muddier and undoubtedly more aggressive given the previous night's downpour. I prodded with caution, navigating around areas of soddenness in favour of higher ground. Frankly, the cautious detours made little difference, for gummy dampness was inevitable even at greater elevations.

Around 12:45 PM, I returned to Studio Bon. There, I would antsily await the conclusion of the studio owner's lunchtime session. As she waved me onto the floor, I tucked my belongings into one of the many cubbies. Green tape substituted handles in the meantime (or were they never meant to be?).
She conducted a quick assessment of my body with firm fingers, rapidly identifying ridiculously tight neck and shoulders and noticeable rotation/hiking of the pelvis. The session was set to adopt a blended stretch-and-strengthen format.

On the Reformer, a Step Barrel was arranged on the Carriage, with the triangular section facing the footbar. Lying on my back, I was guided through a series of severely painful stretches for the thoracic spine - an anatomical term I have heard on countless occasions throughout my pilates pilgrimage. Rotating about the Step Barrel, I was instructed to cast my gaze on my fingertips while twisting about the apparatus. At times, sensory descriptions were provided to facilitate visualization of the movements: "Think as if there is a string from the ceiling pulling the top of your head" and "Shine your chest forward, like there is a beam of light coming from it". Arm circles were also conducted in the side-lying position with a neutral spine.

​Remaining in the side-lying position, we progressed onto oblique-targeting moves with the lower arm outstretched and raised by the ear and fire-hydrant-like formations for side glute activation. Arranging the legs in a "turnout position", I flipped over to face the curved part of the Step Barrel. The torso was hinged for bending over while keeping one of the legs hovered. A variation of this move swapped the breathing sequence and extended the raised leg once before returning to the starting position.
Dissimilar to the sessions of the other staff members, instructions from the owner were relayed comparatively slowly. Rather than providing a comprehensive set of directions, each commands was uttered after the completion of the first, entailing some guesswork to determine the appropriate muscle for activation.

​We migrated to the Cadillac towards the midway point, conducting ankle stretches using the spring-attached push-through bar. I was commended for good ankle mobility, but weakness was not to overlooked in the shaky tendencies of the spring while shifting between the pointed and flexed positions. Hamstring and IT band stretches followed with the Pilates Ring in hand(s). Attempts were also made at releasing tension in the neck and upper back with assistance of a rigid yoga stretch ring. However, usage time of the ring was limited given the tremendous discomfort felt.

​For the core, a handful of rolldowns were executed on the Step Barrel placed on the Cadillac. After several reps, crunch pulses were added on for isolation of the upper core. I was reminded to prevent the ribs from splaying outwards, which  realized to be a potential driving factor in mid-back pain.
A request for hip flexor stretches moved me over to the Reformer once again. Class was concluded shortly afterwards.

​Experienced over the duration of the session was an impressively thorough full-body stretch. From the neck and shoulders to the ankles to the hips and hamstrings, there wasn't a single body part omitted. Conditioning exercises had been scarce yet nonetheless challenging, for they demanded isolation of muscle groups while resisting deviation from proper alignment. I left the studio feeling less tense, but not particularly challenged in terms of strength training. Though, in review of my exercise tendencies of late, allocating time for muscle lengthening was likely critical for steady, sustainable development.

Lunch was obtained from a compact Timmies nearby. A Roast Beef and Cheddar Sandwich appeased the appetite for the journey back.

Birthday Cake Waffle Timbiebs and Honey Dip Timbits were acquired as well.

Back home, I was welcomed by the sight of homemade Radish Cake (蘿蔔糕). While typically a savoury traditional treat enjoyed during the Lunar New Year, I was not opposed to early sampling of it and its splendid, well-textured glory.