The best pasta salad that I've ever had!

So, Mark and Kate have been talking about this pasta salad that they were going to make for about a week.  Each day I would come to work and the package of pasta would still be on the counter.  It's been an especially hectic week for them, and so I offered to make it for them yesterday.  I asked Mark to just e-mail me the recipe and I would make it so that they could have it to take with them for lunch.

Well, I didn't exactly get a recipe, so I guess you aren't going to either.  I got a text message that said this:

"Orzo, asparagus, parmesan (a lot), lemon juice, lemon zest, toasted slivered almonds, salt, pepper, craisins."  And the directions were, "She usually does the final mixing in a large skillet."

SO, here's what I did...

- I boiled the pasta according to the package directions.
- I toasted the almonds in the large skillet, and once they were fragrant I put them in a dish by the stove.
- I cut the asparagus into about 1 inch pieces, and then I blanched them in about 1.5 in of salted boiling water and then immediately ran them under cold water to stop the cooking process(in the large skillet after toasting the almonds...  then of course I dumped the water)
- I zested on lemon and reserved it.
- I shredded about 1 1/2 or 2 cups of parmesan (come on and buy a block of it and get your box grater out)
- Then I put the pasta in the skillet and did a very light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, added the almonds, asparagus and a big handful of craisins.  I mixed that until everything looked incorporated.  Then I added the lemon zest and mixed until I thought that was mixed in well.  Then I added the juice of the lemon that I had zested.  Last but certainly not least...  the cheese.  Once again I mixed and mixed until it was all incorporated and yummy looking.
- I tasted and then added salt (not much since the parmesan is so salty) and pepper.

Let me just say... delicious.  I think when I was telling Greg about it last night I used the phrase "so good" more than 5 times.  This is SUPER easy and well... SO GOOD.

(Allison Ladner...  You have to make this ASAP.)