Spring Time Salad

I accidentally found out that I like asparagus. Who knew?

Last week, before I was struck with the plague, we went to DC to visit my cousins Ben & Emily and their amazing, perfect, hilarious, sweet kids. When we arrived on Friday night, they had steak tips and couscous and asparagus for dinner. I took one single solitary piece of asparagus to be a good guest.

Turns out, it was really good! I even went back for a second piece. Two WHOLE pieces of asparagus, people!

So when I went grocery shopping this week, I decided to pick up a bunch and try it. I like to live on the edge like that. Then Sean told me he will never ever eat asparagus, and though I swear he ate some of Emily's, he denies this fact. Now, I have a lot of asparagus for just myself, so I'm hoping I really do like it.

Today I decided to take the plunge. I grilled it on a grill pan, just how Emily prepared it, and used pepper and garlic powder.

It was so delicious. And then I got real crazy.

I added it to my salad. This salad was so wonderful. So fresh. So delightful. So springy.

I made a homemade salad dressing with 1/4 cup olive oil, half a teaspoon red wine vinegar, half a teaspoon balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon of dijon mustard, garlic powder, oregano and thyme. Just drizzle dressing on and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups lettuce
• 5 stalks grilled asparagus
• 1 hard boiled egg
• 1/4 avocado, diced
• 2 tbsp quinoa
• 1/4 cup cucumbers
• Roasted tomatoes, to taste
• Salad dressing

Instructions

• Place egg in a pot with water covering it about one inch. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Once it is at a simmer, set timer for three-four minutes, depending how well done you like your yolk. After three minutes, remove egg from pot, run under cold water for 30-60 seconds. Set aside and allow to cool while prepping rest of salad.
• Drizzle asparagus in sunflower oil (or oil of choice) and sprinkle with black pepper and garlic powder. Set on grill pan over medium-high heat. 
• While asparagus is cooking, assemble all other salad ingredients. Drizzle dressing over salad.
• When asparagus is finished, allow to cool for a minute or two while you peel your hard boiled egg.
• Place asparagus and egg on salad and enjoy!