• 1 clove garlic , peeled
• Kosher salt
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
• 1 pork tenderloin (about 3/4 pound)
• Freshly ground pepper
• Vegetables such as winter squash or root vegetables (about 3/4 pound), coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp. olive oil

Chop garlic fine, then add 1 teaspoon salt and mash with the flat side of a big knife. Smear mustard, mashed garlic, and ginger all over pork, and pepper generously. Refrigerate until ready to roast. (The garlic-ginger coating should be applied at least an hour ahead, but Jones does it the morning of the day she's roasting the pork.)

Preheat oven to 375° and place tenderloin in the middle of a baking dish. Rub vegetables with olive oil and season with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Scatter them around pork in the baking dish. Roast 30 to 45 minutes (or until a thermometer inserted in tenderloin registers 155°). Remove meat and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes. If vegetables aren't quite done when pork is, give them another 5 to 10 minutes (until tender). Serve slices of pork on a plate with veggies all around; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Adapted from The Pleasures of Cooking for One, by Judith Jones, copyright © 2009, with permission from the publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.