At the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen, we live in a slightly different time zone from everyone else. Spring and summer always come early, as does autumn. And Christmas? Don’t get me started …

So, recently, we’ve been roasting vegetables when it’s 30C outside, blitzing “autumn” soups while wearing flip-flops and hunkering down for winter a tad earlier than most people. But now, finally, the weather is changing, so I am reaching for a slightly thicker jacket and cradling a bowl of minestrone with chilly hands. Which is as it should be.

The Ottolenghi kitchen garden on Wolves Lane in Tottenham, north London, is a chief witness to the changing seasons. We’ve bid adieu to summer berries and now it’s all about winter radishes, sorrel, mustards and squash. A few weeks ago, we even grew a record-breaking tromboncino squash that came in at 174cm long. Over at Rovi, chef Neil John Campbell has it proudly on display for all to see, but its fate is imminent: the time will soon come when he has to turn it into achaar with scotch bonnet and curry leaf. That will be a bittersweet farewell for Neil, but a tasty day for the rest of us.

As the temperatures drop, there also seems to be a collective cry for crumbles, cakes and pies. And I get it: chilly weather requires carbs. In fact, one of the highlights of my month was a pie pop-up by my colleague of eight years, Verena Lochmuller, in collaboration with Soft & Swirly and Bakery Lark. Her pies and toppings were a celebration of autumnal flavours and, in true Verena fashion, grapes. Her love affair with grape-flavoured things goes back to her days in the US, when she came across the concord grape, which tastes remarkably like the grape flavour used in confectionery and soft drinks. Grape-flavoured Tootsie Pops have been one of her favourite things ever since, and she makes no secret of it.

Her sour grape sauce, which I poured all over my pie, is further evidence of this love affair and, while that’s a selfish endeavour, I’m still grateful to Verena, as was everyone else in the mile-long queue. She roasts fregola grapes with caster sugar, orange peel and a generous glug of olive oil, until the skins burst and release all their luscious juices and strains them over a saucepan. They’re then simmered and kicked up a notch with a couple of splashes of white condimento or moscatel vinegar.

Roasting grapes is a game-changer, by the way, and it’s an approach that Nik Sharma knows only too well: check out his roast grape, cheese and walnut salad. If you’re not in the mood to turn on the oven, however, try Rachel Roddy’s one-pan wonder that features sausages and grapes cooked in a frying pan: simple, delicious, and crowd-pleasing.

Before we know it, everyone at the test kitchen will be whizzing up gazpacho while wearing gloves to keep our hands warm, but, for now, we’re cosying up, hot chocolates in hand, and embracing everything early winter has to offer.

Each Friday, we have a word of the day at the test kitchen that we try to sneak into as many conversations (and meetings) as possible. Last week, Milli Taylor’s word was “apricity”, meaning the warmth of the winter sun, and it got us sharing stories of snug escapes to the coast, with brisk walks, empty beaches and cosy lunches. Here are a few of our favourite coastal spots for your next breezy weekend by the sea:

Folkestone, Kent | Hop on a train and head straight for the seafront. Grab a pint of Guinness at The Ship Inn by the harbour and perhaps a crab sandwich from Bob’s seafood stall, then nestle yourself under the white cliffs and stare out at the Channel. Oh, and make sure you have lunch and/or dinner at the Folkestone Wine Company: informal yet informed service and brilliantly executed food.

South Milton, Devon | After a brisk walk along South Milton Sands, or between swims, stop off at the Beachhouse for some of the freshest seafood in Devon. You may need a wetsuit.

Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland | My husband is from this neck of the woods, and it’s where we often go during the school holidays. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather go than the north-east coast of the Ards Peninsula, especially at this time of year, for bracing seaside walks, the gorgeous harbour and, perhaps most of all, Bridewell Coffee and Provisions on the High Street for brunch, lunch and all manner of brilliant bakes.