Ingredients

• 4 ears fresh corn, steamed
• 1 bundle of asparagus. blanched
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• ¼ cup fresh chopped basil
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, sliced or quartered (or red pepper finely diced)
• 2 cups cooked whole grain pasta (I used farfalle) (optional)
• 1 avocado, diced (optional)

Sweet Italian Dressing

• ½ cup raw cashews
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• ½ cup water
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons white miso paste
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt 

Directions

1. Fill a large stock pot with water and bring it to a boil. Place shucked corn in boiling water and blanch the corn for 3 minutes until bright yellow. Then place the corn into cold water and cool completely. (Don’t discard the boiling water as you will use it to blanch the asparagus.)
2. In the same water used for blanching the corn, blanch the asparagus for 1 minute and immediately immerse the stalks into cold water and cool completely.
3. Once cooled, remove the corn kernels from the cob with a sharp knife, and cut the asparagus into 1-inch angled sections. Place both the corn and asparagus into a medium size bowl along with the remaining vegetables and pasta.
4. In a high-speed blender, blend the dressing ingredients until smooth and creamy. Drizzle about half the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat.  Add more dressing depending on your taste preference.  Chill or serve room temperature.