Rules are made to be broken. Change is the only constant. Culture is porous and tradition must be fluid. These are the guiding principles for all life. How can they not apply to what and how we eat?

Yes, but. . . . Like so many others, we are creatures of habit. At Christmas we demand the full trimmings (chestnut stuffing, bread sauce and much more) with our turkey -- or better still, roast goose. We despise the notion of eating strawberries in winter. Fish and chips without malt vinegar is unthinkable. At even the funkiest izakaya, we only order our rice when we're through with quaffing sake. And, despite advances in refrigeration technology, we still shy away from raw shellfish during the summer months.

Now that September is here, though, what's to stop us? Oysters "R" in again, as the old adage has it, and not a moment too soon. When the weather is still too warm to contemplate full-scale dining, nothing could be easier on the appetite than a few succulent mollusks on the half shell. All you have to do is slurp them down -- you don't even have to expend energy on chewing.