marinated asparagus

wow, has life been a blur lately.. i can’t believe i finally got a job working nearly forty hours a week! on top of that, i only have 7 1/2 weeks of classes left until my externship! the days are packed full and what little time i have, i’m usually zoned out or spending a little time with kris.  while cooking isn’t something i get to do in my free time very often, i think about it a lot.  luckily, i get to do a bit of cooking each day at work whether it’s roasting chickens or tossing together some summer veggies for a quick and lite hot dish.

amidst school, work and each of our fabulous spring vacations, we are still able to find time to spend with each other and with our friends.  just after we got back from las vegas, we threw together some plans for a quick hang-out.  since the sun was just barely peeking through the clouds for the first time in about two months, we thought a lite summer smörgåsbord was appropriate.  dave was in charge of bread and beer (of course); laura heeded the responsibility of homemade hummus, salad and wine; and kris and i were to bring a salami and cheese plate.

i was able to scour the shelves at work to find some fantastic deals on some salumi salamis, and some swiss cheeses, but we felt our meal was lacking.  kris was thinking on her feet and threw together a simple balsamic vinaigrette and marinated some asparagus that was crunchy, tangy and oh-so-delectable.  now, i know that we’re not the first people to use balsamic vinegar to dress vegetables.. but who are we to deny the flavorful callings of cool crunchy vegetables with that sweet, but tart kiss to our tongue.

this is such a simple side component that can be thrown together in a matter of minutes as a completing component to a picnic in the park.  or, if you want to give the salad a little more girth, throw a few different types of vegetables in – carrots, broccoli, red bell peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms – you name it!  we liked it so much we had it again the very next day.

marinated asparagus

1 lb asparagus spears – trimmed
1 medium yellow onion - julienne
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbs very finely minced garlic
1 1/2 tbs dry italian seasoning
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

1. submerge the asparagus spears in a large pot of salted, boiling water for about a minute (more time for fat spears, less time for skinny spears).  immediately move the asparagus into a bowl filled with ice and water to chill.

2. to make the marinade – combine all remaining ingredients except the onion in a bowl whisking in the olive oil a few drops at a time.

3. toss asparagus and onion in the marinade and let sit for 1 hour in the refrigerator.