Wednesday was Fourth of July, meaning a whole crowd of people joined us in our backyard for burgers, chicken, hot dogs, coleslaw, and a few beers. But what to do with all the leftovers? Easy -- cold soba noodles.

The cabbage was undressed, and leftover from the slaw. Chicken cutlets were simply marinated -- olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, lemon juice, a little hot sauce -- and we just yanked them out of the fridge when the soba noodles were ready. The pickled zucchini were a result of having too much fresh zucchini left over; rather than let it rot, I tossed it into the brine of some pickles I'd made for the Wednesday party. Two days later they still had some snap.

The rest is easy. Boil the noodles. Dunk them in cold water. Toss them with a dressing of ginger and soy sauce (see this post from last month). Fast, resourceful, refreshing, tasty as hell.