SPRING HAS SPRUNG

WHEN THE SEASONS change, we at the Manor find a little bag, or in our case, two bags, hanging from our doorknobs. For the arrival of Spring we received a juicy, seedless tangerine and this pictured card. "Summer in the light, and winter in the shade"; I wasn't familiar with that Dickens quotation. There are a few menu changes, too, as different produce and fish come into season. In many ways it's wonderful to have someone else do the figuring for us and only once in a great while do I miss the opportunity to be the menu planner and cook.


The sole cookbook I brought with us to the Manor was Peg Bracken's "I Hate to Cook Book", which pretty well sums up my outlook. Before the move I managed to clutter my kitchen to the point that I had only a square foot of working space which took the pleasure out of any culinary activity. I tend to fool myself into thinking I enjoyed the exercise and it takes a picture like this to remind me of how it really was and to make me doubly glad to be here where a kitchen staff of 30 people makes mealtime effortless for us as residents. No regrets, not really. I wonder when I'll cease poring over magazines looking for recipes that don't require a stovetop or an oven? Who do I think I'm kidding?