Out & About #820 | Genmaicha Soufflé Cheesecake Revisited + Return to Work

As I begin to re-learn my "old" ways - ways temporarily forgotten with a sudden swap of surroundings and resources - I'm dismayed to discover new areas of weakness and lower levels of productivity.

Perhaps it is an obvious consequence of time being invested elsewhere, but I had optimistically hoped not for my endurance to wither within such a short period. Returning to regular pilates sessions was not particularly difficult, though chills were frequently felt, as were moments of abnormal warmth. The mind and body were drained despite little engagement with the outside world.

​Breakfasts consisted of: coffee, far more accessible than before with all equipment and roasts on hand, and items derived from a seemingly endless freezer stash. Buttermilk Eggos were a recent addition, unknown to me until my return; blue sky bran muffins and banana bread (marbled or unmarbled) welcomed me back in a toasty, cinnamon-laced embrace.

The first few meals back would comprise of congee (for detoxing), kale (for iron), and lean pork (for more iron). At times of weakness, Ensure was consumed for a boost of protein. However, nausea and a persistent headache refused to depart. An inability to obtain quality sleep was another telling exhibit of unwellness.

​After unpacking, I began to tackle the next order of business: my medical appointments.

​Walk-in clinics were far more accessible back home, making both securing an appointment and completing an x-ray simpler and speedier. The results of the diagnostic tests have yet to be relayed at this point in time, but, in the very least, the rapid antigen test device reads negative.

​​There was initial shock at witnessing a faint second line after three hours of leaving the device unattended. Though negative results had been read at the 15-minute mark, the sight stirred panic from within. A second test was conducted on the subsequent day, with negative readings at both the 15-minute and 30-minute mark. Again, the very faint line would surface after 3 hours, but, this time, would assume a positive slope, tracking upwards from left to right without clear reason. I concluded the only accurate results to be those read at the 15-minute mark and not past thirty minutes.

With a yearning for the nutty, grassy properties of Paragon's Genmaicha, I took to recreating the Japanese Cheesecake I had failed two times prior. 

​Though neither of the previous cakes revealed inferiority in flavour and consistency, I was keen to revisit the formula for a crack-free version. While I still omitted the note for room-temperature eggs, sugar was incorporated added to the egg whites in one addition rather than gradually. A delicate meringue failed to be formed though, for my batch of eggs had leaked yolk, suppressing volume as a consequence. The next three eggs weren't any better, thus I proceeded as is.
I also adhered to the gentle cooling process, but broiled the surface for two minutes instead of baking at 350 F.

​The outcome was perfect, in spite of my mid-crafting concerns. Under a crisp, uniformly browned surface - no thicker than 2 mm - lay a rich, robust creaminess. The cake is eggy immediately out of the oven, with an extremely fragile, moist bottom, but dense and indulgent after a few hours in the fridge.

​Church's Chicken was proposed by yours truly to combat quivers induced by low-calorie content. The 8-Piece Family Meal included generous portions of dark meat, four Honey Butter Biscuits, and somewhat soggy crinkle-cut fries (or an alternate choice of side).

​The Honey Butter Biscuits were a splendid surprise: Unlike Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits, they were soft and supple, and sweet to contrast against the chicken's salty brine. Brushed with a light layer of honey, plush like the first bite of cornbread, fragrant with the essence of butter, and irresistibly crunchy on its bottom the biscuit truly deserved the following it has accumulated.

Oreo Churros Bites were also added to the order out of curiosity. These morsels were shockingly rigid - even more so than Mr. Chu back in the day - and oddly dark in profile, emitting the bitterness of black cocoa but combatting minimally with a bland, pasty filling. Mount Sinai remains superior in all aspects, followed by Hola.

​The weekend was to originally comprise of cycling and investigation of paddleboards in the city. General unwellness persuaded me to undertake a different task altogether, while avoiding heat and humidity of the external world: Cleaning my desk.

Even the evening prior to my return flight, the sleepy polar bear had made me aware of a completed PC. I had been eager to commence editing in a new environment, one with ample RAM to prevent crashing, adequate space for the installation of updated software, and, naturally, boosted speed. The only obstacle that lay in between was the status of my desk.
​I obtained the exact dimensions of the unit for reference, then bit the bullet and began the process. Despite occupying no more than one eighth of my desk space, the clutter was quite impressive, unpacking itself to be far more extensive than it appeared.

Amusement was found in drawings dating back from the early 2000s - copyrighted too! - as well as high school era sketches depicting my then-preferred genre of J-Rock and Visual kei, be it in terms of music or stylized attire.

​Some four hours later, I had successfully rearranged the area, and the sleepy polar bear was summoned for installation around 4 PM. The arrival saw accompaniment of some of my favourite snacks, in addition to pastries from The Blue Danube Sausage House Ltd. and my request of Minion-themed Banana-Shaped Sugar Kookies from McD's.

​The contents of the box were presumably German in origins. One was a soft cookie sandwich, surface dipped in chocolate and filled with a thin, apricot-hued paste with notes of fruit (though not sure which) and finely chopped nuts. This specimen proved passable, but warranted no further sampling. Adjacent was an orb of chocolate, coated thoroughly in shredded coconut and radiating with the alluring aroma of rum. Delicate enough to yield under the pressure of a single finger, the treat was cushiony to the touch, yet cakey and lightly dense in texture.

There may have been some degree of visual influence, for the Banana-Shaped Sugar Kookies seemed to vaguely evoke essences of banana - the artificial kind, if any. Others begged to differ though, and merely affirmed its sweetness.

Two horrendous pre-vacay sessions led by the owner herself had left me traumatized for my studio return. In my absence, monitoring of the situation had been deferred to a trusted classmate. The situation was noted to not have undergone tremendous improvement, thus prompting my request to exchange my existing sessions for private classes.

​It wasn't entirely irrational either, since I could benefit from form reminders and also purge predominant petroleum payments.

​I exited at Leslie to find the new ramp open for use, and the old one closed to the public. What a shame that I will only experience its smooth asphalt surface once more.

We began the session with static stretches, my most despised "warm-up" series, especially given consistently their proven risk to injury. On the Barrel, one leg was placed by the ladder rungs, while the other atop the curved cushion. The stretch was held for as long as I could bear without the toes tingling. Next up was a figure-4 stretch, which was also held until cramping kicked in (and was vocalized).

Navigating to the Cadillac, a foam roller was slide beneath the spine to check core strength, similar to my introductory classes (699) at Sum. My strength was applauded, though positioning and rotation of the pelvis were repeatedly rectified. These issues have remained with my body for as long as I can recall, and pilates was taken up with the aim of mitigating such misalignment. From a desire to improve was a foundation of knowledge built, followed by body awareness. Attention was extended to the conscious engagement of specific muscles in the body, which, in turn, earned me much praise from the instructor. Of course, this was not the only comment.

A variety of other low-impact exercises were conducted for a full-body session. On the Reformer were oblique stretches in mermaid position, then the Cadillac for upper back, side glute, and leg exercises. Frequent reminders were extended to keep the pelvis pressed into the mat, tailbone tucked, and core engaged. With the hands placed beneath the forehead, I was instructed to lift the upper body while maintaining contact between the stomach and mat, as to isolate the upper back.
Flipping onto my side, we proceeded with side leg lifts. By limiting the range of motion, one was urged to focus on muscle engagement rather than momentum. Holds were less common in this instructor's routine, though a five-second hold was called out on the last left lift count. A variation of this move involved lifting the upper leg, then the lower leg to join it; keeping tension in the obliques and pelvic stability was crucial to work my areas of weakness, specifically the left hip and right inner thigh.

​Finally, we returned to the Reformer once more. With the footbar raised to the highest position, one leg was lifted to tabletop position while the other placed on the footbar. The first variation involved keeping the ankle flexed and pushing out against two red springs; the second, which shifted the ball of the feet to the footbar, was conducted at a lower spring tension of one red, one blue, and one white due to weakness of the inner thigh. This series was particularly memorable given the tremendous amount of control required to sustain the movement with a smooth manner.
Flipping to face the wall, tricep, and chest exercises with hands threaded through the tension straps. Reminders were uttered to keep the "sternum down" and "scapula flat". It was, unsurprisingly, another difficult position to maintain, making effective execution of the move more challenging than meets the eye.

The class terminated with a slow rolldown, holding several seconds at the bottom, and curling up to a successful session. It would be an understatement to declare a slight communication barrier, for the instructor periodically struggled with instruction delivery in the English language. Lefts and rights were sometimes confused, along with "inhale" and "exhale". At times of confusion, I would simply shift my body while asking for confirmation. It seemed to work decently.
She concluded on a positive note: that the mind-muscle connection was impressive, yet the imbalance was staggering.

​​Lunch needs led me to McDonald's, where the limited lineup of Minions: The Rise of Gru Happy Meal toys had just arrived.

A Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap and Apple Slices were chosen as a light lunch, such that stomach space would be conserved for the existing snacks at home.

The first, and likely only, draw of the Happy Meal toys was the satisfying result of Slippery Otto, who slid and twirled on my countertop gleefully.

​With the mandate for office presence - utterly unjustified, should you ask me - in place, I mourned my loss of sleep with sparkling sake. Bubbles are, customarily, a celebratory beverage, though its effects were intended to be uplifting in this instance.