Why ask why?

Because there are six more weeks of winter. And we are dying to see blue skies. Because we want something slightly sweet with tea or coffee in the late afternoons. It is time we savor quietly. Time we enjoy by ourselves.

Because there are ingredients in the freezer, fridge and cupboard. Cranberries. Butter. Orange juice. White and brown sugar. Oatmeal. They are simple to pull together. The oven does the work. Because we need to.

Cranberry Oat Squares

for the cranberry sauce:

4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2/3 to 1 cup sugar
1/3 cup orange juice

for the cranberry squares:

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted

To make the cranberry sauce:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Place cranberries in 9- by 13-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with sugar.

Bake for 1 hour, stirring after 30 minutes. Add orange juice; stir to combine. Set aside to cool.

To make the cranberry squares:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Stir oats, flour, baking soda, salt, brown sugar and melted butter in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Press half the mixture evenly into bottom of a 9-inch square glass baking pan.

Top with cranberry sauce in an even layer. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool and cut into squares. Makes 9 to 10 servings.

In the Sunday paper

Novelist Alexander McCall Smith writes in The Observer of a lifelong affection for tea and tea-taking:

"Tea, for me, is one of the great subjects. It is a romantic trade, it does not pollute excessively, it has all sorts of health benefits, it calms and wakes you up at the same time. It promotes conversation. You can give it to the vicar when he calls - if vicars still call - and you can give it to the builders when they come to knock down your wall. Builders still take sugar, but then I'm sure they need it..."