Cold Sesame Asparagus Salad

This last weekend I was lucky enough to be invited to go to the Oregon coast and Saturday night my lovely boyfriend and I were in charge of making dinner for a total of nine people.  We went for an Asian inspired dinner theme and made Chicken Karaage, Scallion Pancakes (next post), and this Asparagus Salad from Good Thymes and Good Food blog...t'was a very tasty meal.  We did have quite an adventure at the coast, Saturday it was sunny, in the 50's, and no wind at all...and it's January!!!  It was one of the best days I have had in a long long time, we were even able to lounge around on the patio in t-shirts and drink bloody marys in pure comfort.  Waldport also has a very rad flea market in town that we checked out, and I was taken to the infamous Flounder Inn for Friday night dinner and drinks after the long dark three hour drive to the coast...epic weekend with amazing people, one for the books indeed.

Serves 6 healthy portions, but it also worked  well as a small salad for 9

The Ingredients
2 bundles of fresh asparagus, bottoms snapped off and cut into 3 inch long pieces
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

The Process
1.  In a medium saucepan bring 1 cup of water to a boil, and then add  asparagus and cook for 1 minute.

2.  Drain the asparagus and put into an ice bath and set aside.

3.  In the meantime in a medium salad bowl (large enough to hold asparagus) mix together soy sauce, sugar, cider vinegar, and sesame oil.

4.  Then drain asparagus from ice bath and add to bowl with sauce mixture.  Toss salad with sesame seeds and refrigerate for at least one hour (stirring occasionally).  Serve cold!