Jeremy and I watched a river cottage cookery programme some time ago during the cold, “hungry gap” in the gardening calendar.  Instead of cooking the vegetables in a saucepan the cook put everything into a rectangular casserole dish and put it in the oven where the juices emerged from the tomatoes and the flavours of garlic, onion, herbs and courgettes mingled deliciously and effortlessly.  To the above we have added thinly sliced sticks of celery, sweet green pepper strips and tiny slivers of hot green chillies, salt, pepper and paprika.  It is now cooking in the oven and will be ready to eat for supper with a dish of rice, runner beans and a cucumber salad.  Stewed plums and cream for dessert.