Rationalizing the weirdly irrational

I'd commented elsewhere about an irrational fear.

I don't like to answer the phone while I'm unpresentable. I'm completely convinced that the very second I do answer the phone while naked, they'll develop the equivalent of speakerphones for video calls and my image will be plastered all over the side of a building in Times Square. Not that I have even a webcam, so I know this is irrational.

I'm also afraid to step on spiders while wearing shorts. Obviously it's sensibly stupid to step on a spider barefoot. But I am also convinced that if the spider sees my foot approaching from on high, it will leap straight up into the air and glom onto my leg where its bite will be venomous but its teeth will morph into werewolf teeth and instant but hideously painful death will occur plus my blood will pool all over the carpet but will be contagious and anyone who even touches it will turn into a were-spider.

I don't like to buy milk when the date on the carton is turned away on the store's shelf. Sure, it's possible to turn the carton around and check the dates, but it bothers me that they tried to hide the information. I used to think this was irrational, until anecdotally I realized that stores where the dates are turned out shelf-check and remove expired items. Stores which hide the dates often have already past-date milk still for sale.

Cheese, Grommit!

I made ricotta cheese.

(I need a cooking icon.) Fixed.

A friend posted links to recipes using 2 methods, I used the buttermilk method. (The friend used the vinegar method to great success.)

Basically a mixture of 1 part buttermilk, 4 parts milk is heated until it curdles, which is well below boiling. The recommended salt concentration was 2t per gallon. These curds are strained. I used a coffee filter, but cheesecloth is recommended and the coffee filter did not work very fast.

I used 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1.5 cups milk. I realize this is skewed from the official ratio. It still worked just fine. It took me about 6 minutes to cook the milk into curds and I let it strain for an hour undisturbed, but finally started hurrying it because I was frustrated.

I got about 1/2 cup cheese from this.