Deluded Homo Sapiens

I finally finished Yuval Noah Harari's thought-provoking book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2015), more than a year after Moriah first recommended it. Among Harari's many fascinating observations is that, as human beings who evolved in small groups of hunter-gatherers began congregating in ever-larger numbers, we needed shared beliefs to allow us to cooperate on a grand scale. Those isms, or "imagined orders," give even millions of people something they can believe in together, without knowing each other personally. The shared myths are so ingrained that "[e]ven what people take to be their most personal desires"—such as taking a holiday abroad—"are usually programmed by the imagined order," romanticism and consumerism in the foreign travel example. At this point in our development, we cannot escape the imagined orders that allow us to live in large local, national, and global societies: "There is no way out of the imagined order. When we break down our prison walls and run towards freedom, we are in fact running into the more spacious exercise yard of a bigger prison."


Imagined Orders


Descended from apes—
same instincts,
better words.
Craving connections,
we form groups.
We all know each other in
families and small bands,
but after that we need
an Imagined Order.
Myths and totems work for
tribes and villages, but
mass cooperation demands
a bigger imagination:

Religion
Nationalism
Democracy
Human rights
Communism
Capitalism
Consumerism
etc.

Prisons of our own devising,
one and all.
Too clever ape-man.

*********

Once when Uncle Bob was visiting, I tried to get all fancy and make Manicotti with Homemade Crepe "Shells" and fill them with homemade ricotta, too. It all worked out well, except for the homemade ricotta, which was a big bust and wasted pretty much a whole gallon of milk, among other things. Still, the idea of homemade ricotta sounds really good, so I never gave up hope. I saw this recipe recently and decided to give it a whirl, after checking on the internet and seeing some people say it actually works. The original recipe calls for 4 cups (1 quart) of whole milk and ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) of vinegar. I halved the milk and quartered the vinegar, which I saw someone else do and it worked out well. It's actually so good that it'd be worth doubling what I have below, though you'll need a microwaving vessel bigger than the 4-cup Pyrex liquid measuring cup that I used.

Small-Batch Fresh Ricotta

Both recipes adapted from The Food Lab (2015) by J. Kenji López-Alt

Time: ≤12 minutes to get the ricotta made and draining + draining time

The recipe can, and probably should, be doubled and made in a 2-quart liquid measure or bowl.

2 cups (480 grams) whole milk (not ultra-pasteurized or UHT)
¼ teaspoon (rounded) fine sea salt
1 tablespoon (15 grams) distilled white vinegar

    1. Line a small colander set over a large bowl with 2 layers of food-safe paper towels or 4 layers of cheesecloth. In a 4-cup/1-quart liquid measuring cup or bowl, stir the milk, salt, and vinegar together. Zap on high power until lightly bubbling and starting to separate around the edges, 2 to 5 minutes, depending on the power of your microwave. Better yet, if you have an instant-read thermometer, the milk should register 165°F. Remove from the microwave, and stir gently for 5 seconds. If the milk separates into solid white curds on top and translucent liquid whey underneath, you’re there. If not, zap for 30 more seconds and stir again. Repeat until the milk is fully separated. (It took 5 minutes of zapping to get to 165°F in our ancient 700-watt microwave, then another two times 30 seconds to get full separation.)
    2. Using a slotted spoon or a small fine-mesh strainer, transfer the curds to the prepared colander. Drain until your desired texture is reached: about 5 minutes for immediate consumption, while still warm (see recipe below); or about 15–20 minutes for small, tender, moist, and spreadable, but not runny, curds with a cottage cheese-like consistency. Makes about ½ cup. Leftover ricotta (of which there’ll be none) can be stored in a covered container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Warm Ricotta with Olive Oil and Lemon Zest

Time: <20 minutes, including making the fresh ricotta (get the rest of the ingredients ready while the ricotta is draining)

½ cup fresh ricotta
best-quality extra-virgin olive oil
freshly grated lemon zest
kosher or flaky sea salt, like Maldon
freshly ground black pepper
toasted baguette slices, optional

Place the warm, fresh ricotta in a small serving bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with a little lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Serve promptly, spread gently onto toasted baguette slices and drizzled with a bit more olive oil, if desired, or just eat with a spoon. Serves 2.