This will be short and full of dairy references. We had our inaugural dinner party tonight. Nothing fancy just a neighborhood family for a little Italian Lasagna rolls, with a side of baked artichoke dip, and squash. I've been craving a bit of Italy for some reason. It was probably the horrible spaghetti from a side walk vendor soon after we arrived in Tokyo. The undercooked spaghetti, and unrecognizable orange "tomato" sauce had my subconscious screaming for something a bit more American in its Italian taste. A very long trip to the commissary at the U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka gave me every opportunity to find the ingredients necessary for such a meal. Lasagna noodles, frozen spinach, parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, etc. I remembered everything, except the ricotta cheese. Ok, no problem, I'll just go to our local market and see if I can find some. 5 different markets later, still no sign of ricotta cheese. Perhaps it was my pronunciation? I looked it up in my electronic dictionary, and it didn't exist, so I tried several different variations - REE-CAW-TAH, LEE-KA-TAH, RI-KO-TA - I was getting no where. Everyone kept directing me to cottage cheese. Ok, I know I can substitute, and I finally broke down and accepted the fact that ricotta cheese is probably too far out there and scarcely used to warrant actually stocking it. So, two-200g containers of cottage cheese please.
1 comments:
I like our standard measurement system. It evolved organically, and is human-friendly. Yes, 12 inches to the foot, 3 feet to the yard, and water freezing at 32 degrees can be a little confusing, especially to outsiders, and can be slightly difficult to use. However, at least they're all natural, and are fine-grained enough for meaningful distinctions.
On the other hand, the metric system, while a good tool in the hard sciences, has a history of being imposed by bureaucratic fiat, the first such instance being the oppression of "pure reason" after the French Revolution (which I almost spelled as the French Revulsion!). If the people want a change, then let them decide! Imposition from above is one step closer to tyranny.
The metric system is also based on a universalist ideology. I believe that particularism is superior to universalism, not least because different peoples and nations around the globe differ in their particulars. The metric system (as well as the decimalization of monetary systems) also has the pernicious effect of cutting people off from their past.
So, I'm glad we kept our system, and hope that we ever shall.
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