Trim or snap off the tough ends of the asparagus. Bring large pot of water to a boil. Cook the spears until just tender, 4-5 minutes. Lift out the asparagus spears out of the pot (leaving the water) and place them in a colander. Rinse the spears with cool water.

Bring the water back to a boil and add pasta adding salt to the water if desired. Cook until al dente.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain the rest of the water and rinse the pasta with cool water.  Put the pasta in a medium serving bowl.

Trim off the top 3 inches or so of the asparagus spears and add the tips to the pasta. Cut the bottom of the spears into several pieces. Set aside to use in the sauce.

Use a food processor to make the sauce. With the processor running, drop in the garlic to be chopped.  Add 2 TBS of the sunflower seeds and pulse to chop.  Add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, basil, salt and the asparagus pieces (not the tips) along with 3-6 TBS of the reserved pasta water.  Start with up to 3 TBS to start and add more as needed.  Puree until smooth.

Toss the pasta, asparagus tips, and tomatoes with the sauce. Season with salt and peper to taste.  Sprinkle the remaining sunflower seeds.  Serve at room temperature or refrigerate until ready to serve (it's even better the next day!)