When April rolls around I head to the farmers market for my greens and in hopes of asparagus on the tables of my local farmers.  Asparagus is typically found locally in the Ozarks in April and May- so you better act now!

When choosing asparagus look for tight heads, firm stalks and all stalks should be about the size of a pencil and uniform in size.  When you get home with your market asparagus, place in a vase with the ends in a container of water of wrap ends in a wet paper towel.  Store no longer than a couple days.

Fresh Asparagus Salad
½ lb. thin asparagus stalks
4 medium, ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
½ small red onion, thinly sliced and cut vertical
2 cloves, minced garlic
¼ cup fresh cilantro
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Prepare you asparagus and steam the stalks for 3.5 minutes.  Then, transfer to a cold water bath (to stop the cooking process you must place asparagus in a bowl of ice cold water, then drain).  Cut asparagus into ½ inch pieces.

Combine asparagus, onion, tomatoes, garlic and cilantro in a large glass bowl.  In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, asparagus, onion and cilantro. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, oil and cumin and whisk together and drizzle over the salad.  Add salt and pepper to taste.