Cook on strike

My friend M came over for a relaxing summer dinner last night. I lured her over in the first place with the temptation of a cold g & t (it'll do wonders to get people to come and visit). I threw together a simple dinner of marinated tofu and japanese eggplant grilled on the stovetop in my great grill pan (I have the kiwi version).

I also served a cold salad of blanched green beans and mixed potatoes (there was sadly only one purple one in my bunch) marinated with wild ginger vinegar. Everything was actually from my CSA bag except for the tofu and the teriyaki sauce I marinated it in.

I find that I don't generally use recipes for meals. Call it creativity; call it laziness. I subscribe to lots of magazines that give great recipes and my collection of veggie cookbooks is growing, but I tend to use them for ideas on flavor combinations more than anything. This becomes really easy during the months I have my CSA supplies. My friend Mommy, Esq. actually had a discussion recently on her blog about the usefulness of CSAs and the pressure they place on cooks. Einat commented that she just lets her farmers market veggies do the work. That's a great attitude.