Arlene was a delightful lady whose last name has disappeared into the mists shrouding my past. One of Arlene's delights was her recipe for Greek-style lamb. Another was her collection of "uglies." She and a friend gave one another, for Christmas and on their birthdays, the ugliest pieces of ceramic ware they could find. Arlene's best was a frog painted in shades of pink and green. Which shades of pink and green were utterly loathsome apart but worked together in a way that made them exponentially loathsome together. The frog had other loathsome qualities; it was, in fact, a masterpiece of loathsomeness, but once again the mists of time have obliterated the details.

     If you wish to exchange uglies with your friends, you may be fortunate enough to find a collection at your nearest thrift shop. Though some thrift shops are more discriminating about their wares than others. Avoid the ones with discriminatory clerks. What you want is a thrift shop clerk who simply piles the junk onto tables and sits behind the cash register talking on the telephone and chewing gum. Treasuries of loathsomeness await you there.

     And, finally, now that I have started you on a new interest in life, here is the recipe for Arlene's lamb, which, far from being loathsome, is an excellent dish.

Ingredients:

1 leg of lamb
1 large clove of garlic, cut in small slivers
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons finely minced onion
2 tablespoons finely minced parsley
2 tablespoons flour
1-1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon dry sherry (optional)

     Remove the fell or outer papery coating from the leg of lamb. Cut tiny pockets in the lamb and insert slivers of garlic. Rub the lamb well with lemon juice. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place lamb, fat side up, on a rack in an uncovered greased pan. Immediately reduce the heat to 325 degrees. For well done lamb (175 to 180 degrees on a meat thermometer), cook 30 minutes per pound. If you like it rare (160 to 165 degrees) cook 20 to 25 minutes per pound

     When the lamb is done, pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Add the onion and parsley to the fat and cook 2-3 minutes. Stir in flour to form a paste and let the paste cook 2-3 minutes. Add water gradually, stirring constantly, with a gravy whisk if you have one. Let the gravy cook for several minutes. At the last minute stir in 1 tablespoon sherry.

     Arlene says guests often ask to be served this again.

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