Asparagus Tomato Salad - NYR - YYYYY

(This is from the Spring 2010 Taste of Home® Cooking School Spotlight magazine)

1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces *
1 small zucchini, halved and cut into ¼ inch slices *
1 c. grape or cherry tomatoes
¼ c. sliced green onions
¼ c. minced fresh parsley
3 T. olive oil
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced (or pressed)
¼ tsp. seasoned salt
¼ tsp. Dijon mustard
¼ c. shredded Parmesan cheese, optional
2 T. sunflower kernels, toasted, optional

Place the asparagus and zucchini in a steamer basket; place in a saucepan over 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil; cover and steam for 2 minutes. Rinse in cold water.

In a large bowl, combine the asparagus, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, and parsley.

In a small bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, garlic, seasoned salt and mustard. Pour over asparagus mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese and sunflower kernels, if desired. 6 servings

* I kept the asparagus tips and stalks separated. I have a microwave steamer, so steamed the stalks for 2 minutes, the tips for 1 minute, and the zucchini slices for one minute. I did rinse all in cold water to stop further cooking.

I also forgot to add the cheese and sunflower kernels and it was still excellent!

If you have leftovers, which I would suggest you refrigerate, remove from refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving since olive oil tends to solidify somewhat when refrigerated.

My girlfriends Lori, Nancy, and Betty all went to the "2010 Taste of Home Cooking School" at the Horseshoe Casino near us in Southern Indiana. (Interesting - this was our first trip to "the Boat" and forget gambling, food was the only draw for us!) It was a fine evening! We got there early enough to get front row seats and even interacted with the Cooking School "teacher." (O.K. so I was the only one with the big enough mouth to do that, but I think she enjoyed it as much as I did!) If you love to cook and if you are familiar with the Taste of Home Magazines and Cookbooks, I would recommend you go to a Cooking School if one comes near you. The demonstrator puts on quite a show as she actually prepares several dishes (our show featured 10, of which this was one). Many local vendors come and participate and have samples (yum) and door prizes to sign up for. They even give out the finished recipes as door prizes. Betty won a beautiful scarf from one of the vendors that were present at the show; I won a ham, no comments please. This was pretty cool, as I had seen a neighbor of mine during the break time and she expressed how much she wanted to win one of the hams. I said, "Eva, if I win one, it's yours!" So I was tickled when they called my name! This recipe was part of our Easter dinner menu. Colorful and delicious!!