We’ve got some news coming up shortly, but in the interim, I wanted to share my current favorite thrown-together lunch-y meal.

Earlier in the week, Shane and Dan and I went to Fort Reno and had delicious picnicky things, resulting in a fridge full of half-eaten snackity bits like grape tomatoes and peapods and tiny balls of marinated mozzarella. In a rush to put together lunch before leaving for work on Thursday, I concocted the following, which I made again this morning.

Take some zucchini – any variety, whatever you like – and slice it width-wise and about 1/4″ thick. Grill with salt and pepper on a stove-top griddle – or on your regular grill when you’re cooking out, as they’ll keep a couple of days – until marked and soft.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then add about 1 C dried pasta – shape of your choice, though I wouldn’t go much smaller than penne or fusili – and cook til al dente. Drain, and then toss with a bit of olive oil.

While everything’s still hot, cut up some mozzarella into bite-sized pieces and toss with the pasta and zucchini. Seal it up in your container of choice, and by lunchtime, everything should be nicely melted and marinated. Eat it cold like a pasta salad, or warm it up for a minute or two.

If you have marinated mozzarella, you can substitute the marinade for the olive oil. You could also use asparagus, but that would take a bit longer to cook. I bet this would be fantastic with some roasted or briefly grilled tomatoes – might have to try that next time.