Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Seeking favor is degrading (Tao)

Seeking favor is degrading: alarming when it’s gotten, alarming when it is lost. (Tao te King, W Dyer translation)

We have an inner self that communicates, through intuition, what’s the best path to follow. That’s not to say that tools and strategies are not important. But what path to follow, what strategy to use? Go within and listen to your inner self, imagine doing path A and then path B - and sense the emotions. If it feels good, do it. If it doesn't feel good, don’t do it. Go testing the path with intuition and feeling the emotions. Your analysis, be RBV, balanced score card, or any other, will be richer by your inner light.

Also there is abundance of everything in the universe. Seeking favor for achieving something is not the way of the Tao. Seeking favor for feeling approved is not also the way of the Tao. The wise conquers without striving. By not seeking approval, he obtains all approval. The wise doesn’t do and leaves nothing undone. Be in harmony with your inner nature and all doors will open for you. Be like the Tao, follow your inner nature, it knows what is best for you.

The world is always changing, and that’s a good thing. To know the changing, know the constant. To know the Constant, go inside.

Recipe - Classical Italian Ciabatta


CIABATTA HEAVEN
True italian Bread requires something called “biga”. It’s a simple dough that grows for 12 hour, then its incorporated in the actual Bread.
It is so important to the quality of the bread, that a Chef friend of mine, whose restaurant has two michellan stars, almost had a heart attack when he discovered that his brother had forgotten to do the “biga” at the proper time on the night before the opening of a new unit of his restaurant. The only solution was to postpone the inauguration a few hours, so that the biga and the bread could be in the just time and flavor. As a result the journalists and VIPs waited, almost quitting, but then all was ok, because the bread, all of the food and the pastries (that receives the same care and art, or more, as the bread) were simply a piece of heaven on earth.
Click here to see a photo set of the ciabatta ready:

So, here we go for a true Italian Ciabatta:

“Biga”
(prepare the day before)
Flour 1000g / 35 oz
Water 500g / 18 oz
Fresh yeast 10g / 0.5 oz
To prepare the biga, dissolve the yeast on water at 85F / 30C, then mix with the flour for 10 minutes at low speed or by hand. Let it grow at approximately 75F/24C for 12 hours. Then it is ready to be used in true Italian bread making.


Ciabatta classica (Classical Ciabatta)

Flour 35 oz / 1000g
Water 23 oz / 650g
Biga 35 oz / 1000g
Fresh yeast 1 oz / 30g
beer malt 1 oz / 25g (may use honey as a substitute, works very well too, but malt is better)
salt 1 oz / 30g

.
The salt slows the action of the yeast, so it’s the last ingredient to be handled, after the dough has already been formed. The yeast must be dissolved in water at approximately 85 F / 30C.
Mix all ingredients, except the salt, by hand or in slow speed for four minutes. Then incorporate the salt and keep working on the dough for another 14minutes (total 18 minutes of work on the dough). The final result is a very soft dough, that falls from the hands, but delivers a wonderful bread.

Let the dough grow for one hour, it should double its size during this time, at approximately 75F / 24C on container coated with extra virgin olive oil.
Ciabatta is a soft dough and, after the first one hour growth, must be minimally manipulated.
Divide the dough in pices of 500g / 17oz each. Then with the minimum manipulation possible form rolls that are 16in / 40 cm long and 2 in / 5cm large.

Let the bread rolls grow for another 30 minutes and then bake them at 465 F / 240C , being 5 minutes with vapor and 25 minutes without vapor. If your oven does not liberate vapor, dooont panic, please, this bread is worth the effort – there’s a simple and and easy way to produce vapor, let a little container with some water in the oven (may leave it for all the time of the baking), so some vapor is formed. The vapor helps create the crispness of the bread.

And that’s it, you have true ciabatta brad on your hands. Eat it with parma ham (or Spanish ham) and your favorite cheese. Don´t like meat products? Its heaven with just plain extra virgin olive oil or cream cheese.

All the colors of taste


All the colors of taste.


I've been to the São Paulo's central market. Its a repository from the best and most rare fruits, cheeses, spices and vegetables from Brazil and from all over the world.


Chefs from all over the world have visited this market and they always remain in great wonder for the colors and unique flavours of the rare fruits and spices.

And eating there is a marvellous adventure, with its unique gastronomy.


See all the collor of taste in the following flickr set (photos taken by me):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiceofsoul/sets/72157615857858622/