Can't remember the last time I cooked something that didn't involve roasting vegetables. It's ideal for wintery style cooking, and also for when I don't have time to stand around over the stove - chop veggies, chuck them in the oven, work on thesis for half an hour, retrieve dinner from oven and eat.

This recipe is one from Jill Dupleix. Check out her archive of recipes on the Sunday Times webpage - there are lots there that look good.

Heat the oven to 200 C.

Trim the courgettes, cut into quarters or sixths lengthwise, then in half across. Peel and trim the parsnips, cut into quarters or sixths lengthways (trimming out the woody middle if necessary). Cut the cheeks from the peppers and then cut into wide strips. Toss the vegetables with the thyme, salt, pepper and a little olive oil. Roast for about 30 minutes, then add the tomatoes and cook a further 10 minutes. Remove and leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Soak the saffron and sultanas in the boiling water while the vegetables are roasting. Then add the olive oil, vinegar and mustard, and whisk together. Toss the leaves in this dressing and arrange on serving plates. Strew the vegetables over the top, then scatter with the pine nuts and drizzle with whatever dressing remained after tossing the leaves.

Serves 3-4.

Chapter 5

1.06 am: one cup of Earl Grey, one cup of Lady Grey, two cups of green tea with mint, two glasses of whisky; chapter 5 of the thesis is now half written!

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24 November 2004

For someone who has a bit of a panic attack about the thesis every, oh, day or so, I am spending a significant amount of time cooking. But I figure this is better than what happened during the last couple of months of my Honours thesis, when we ate takeaway Thai food at least three times a week - I think I might have consumed my own body weight in coconut cream in those months. Delicious though it is, it's not the best brain food. So, hurrah for civilised behaviour and proper meals, I say.

Tonight, we arrived home from uni late, so quickly consumed a small bowl each of soup left over from a few days ago. Recipe still to be perfected, but essential outline is: roughly chop up a large butternnut squash, 2 onions and 2 Granny Smith apples. Toss with a little olive oil, salt and pinch of chilli powder. Roast for 40 minutes or until golden and soft. Puree with stock, bring to a simmer, season to taste. Serve if desired with walnut pesto. This was much improved after spending a couple of days sitting in the back of the fridge thinking about its sins.

Then, the edge of hunger dulled, we roughly chopped some red and yellow peppers and a couple of courgettes, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and sherry vinegar, and roasted for 30 minutes at 180C, adding some chunks of garlic half way through. When the vegetables were getting wrinkly-skinned and dark at the edges, we added some black olives, with pits still in for better flavour, and returned to the oven for a further 5 minutes while we grilled some haloumi. Finally, we squeezed lemon juice over the tiger-striped haloumi, stirred large quantities of fresh torn basil through the vegetables, and sat down to an exceptionally decent dinner.

I was feeling under the weather tonight, and wanted something soothing for dinner. Risotto was the perfect solution. We experimented with a new combination of flavours - roast butternut squash, garlic and leek. V. good, easy and satisfying.

Heat the oven to 180C. Peel a butternut squash and cut the flesh into 1.5 cm cubes. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Add several cloves of garlic, peeled and very roughly chopped, and roast a further 10 minutes. Finally, clean and trim three slender leeks, then cut into rounds about 1 cm thick. Toss the leeks in and roast for 10 more minutes or until everything is tender.

Meanwhile, make a risotto in the normal way (olive oil and butter, onion, 200g rice, vermouth/white wine, stock, stir stir stir....). When the rice is about two minutes away from being done, stir in the roast vegetables. Two minutes later, stir through a handful of chopped fresh sage, a knob of butter and some grated parmesan. Remove from the heat and set aside to rest, covered, for two minutes, then serve, with a sigh of pleasure.

The air is so crisp these days, it's a pleasure to breathe. I love it when I emerge from the gym in the mornings to walk across campus to my building - I can see out on to the Downs, and the air is clear and cool in my lungs in lovely contrast to the warmth in my muscles. I'm eating lots of healthy food to keep me on the path of sanity during the final frantic couple of months of my PhD, but all this sensible living has to be balanced out occasionally. That is what mustardy macaroni cheese and Fuller's beer is for.

The Fuller's we bought as a four-pack special, containing a bottle each of London Porter, Mr Harry, Honey Dew and Red Fox, and drank them over the course of two or three nights. I liked the first three quite well, but Red Fox was the real revelation. I am in love with this ale. It's a gorgeous tawny red colour, with biscuity, toasty, oaty flavours. I was all ready to go and buy a slab (do they sell slabs in the UK? Replace with word for some large quantity, as appropriate), but as far as I can find on the web it's only available at Fuller's pubs, or in this four-pack. I really don't have time to go up to London just to drink some beer, but on the other hand, I would very much like to install myself in some cosy pub and slowly drink Red Fox for a few hours... Anyway, if you happen to see it, buy yourself some - and quickly, as it's only available in autumn.

To go with this delicious beverage, we ate macaroni cheese made with gruyere and two kinds of mustard, topped with a crust of fresh breadcrumbs, parmesan and pine nuts. Most excellent. I experimented with red cabbage and apple as a side - not sure whether I liked that enough to be bothered typing up a recipe or not. Probably not.

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Place the milk, onion, bay leaves and peppercorns in a saucepan, and gently heat for 10 minutes, until the flavours of the seasonings have infused the milk, then strain through a sieve. In another saucepan, melt the butter, then add the flour and stir over moderate heat until it forms a paste. Very gradually add the warm milk, a little bit at a time, stirring continually to make a smooth sauce. Gently bring the sauce to a simmer, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring as necessary, until it has thickened somewhat.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in lightly salted boiling water, until it is al dente, then drain.

Mix the gruyere, emmental and both mustards into the white sauce, and season to taste. The mustard flavour will mellow considerably during cooking, so don't panic when you taste it. Combine the cheese sauce with the pasta, then tip into a gratin dish.

Combine the breadcrumbs, parmesan and pine nuts, and sprinkle over the top of the pasta. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until golden on top.

Serves 4-6, depending on greed and side dishes.

Last night's dinner was perfectly formed. Just thinking about it makes me happy and content. The recipe was modified from one in this month's Delicious magazine, by Tom Norrington-Davies. He writes a monthly column on seasonal vegetables, often with brilliant but simple recipes. He is by far the best thing in the magazine - I've decided not to renew my subscription, but his column was almost enough to make me change my mind.

TND suggests serving this with a "softish, mildish cheese" or some oily fish like mackerel. We split a St Marcellin cheese between the two of us, and added piles of soft young rocket. A piece of chewy, slightly sour bread was excellent alongside.

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Cut the peppers lengthwise into about 6-8 pieces, removing the seeds, membranes and stems, but leaving the skin on. Place the peppers in a baking dish and toss with the garlic, olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt and half the oregano leaves.

Cover the dish with alfoil and roast for 20 minutes. Remove the alfoil, give the peppers a toss, and return to the oven to roast uncovered for a further 15 minutes, or until the skins are wrinkling and the edges of the peppers are golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

While the peppers are resting, spread the hazelnuts on a baking tray and cook for 5 minutes until they are golden. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, then crush them roughly using a mortar and pestle. Toss the hazelnuts through the peppers, along with the remainder of the oregano leaves. Taste for seasoning, and serve.

Serves 2 (or 4 as a side dish).