I made this last week for my sister and her husband while they were in town. I don’t know if we were trying to impress them with some kind of kitchen wonders, but last Sunday night we (I) decided we would attempt to make our own cheese, roll out our own pasta, and whip up some lemon tarts… all after a long afternoon of walking around in the hot sun and a quick stop at our favorite wine bar. We all arrived home sweaty and exhausted, ready for the cooking fun to begin. The cheese was an epic failure, the pasta was delicious but not on the table until 11:30pm. This salad, however, I whipped up and served right away, and everyone loved it. Bright, crunchy asparagus pieces are tossed with handfuls of leafy greens in a tangy dijon vinaigrette. But the real special part here is the salty, crunchy, nuttiness from the toasted sesame seeds and almonds. Plus, you can have it on the table in less than 15 minutes. I’ll be making this one again and again…. with store bought cheese. adapted from Farmhouse Table
