Green, Green

Ah, spring. I just love it! Not as much as I love the fall, but it will do. Here in Austin it’s been balmy and cloudy, with cool breezes and chilly mornings. It’s unreal…I know that soon it will be unbelievably hot, and I’ll want to stay inside with the air conditioner and iced water at hand, but for now, I’m enjoying sitting outside in the cool air.

We missed berry picking this year…we usually try to go in March or early April, but this year, we were in Boston. Such a short time there, but so life-changing! It wasn’t quite spring there…I still bundled up in coat and boots and gloves and scarf and hat to walk to work, but there was hope. And now we’re here in Austin, in the last bit of spring, too late for local berries.

Thank goodness for supermarkets. I love my local produce as much as anyone, but I’m so glad to have access to fresh strawberries, and peas, and asparagus.

Asparagus! I knew this post had a point. I decided it was a good time for cream of asparagus soup, so we made some. It was much easier than I thought it would be, and was quite tasty. I think next time I’d use some vegetable broth to replace some of the water, as I felt it was missing some depth. But the flavor of the asparagus shone through, slightly bitter and very, very green.

We had some bread and cheese on the side…toasted bread smeared with my new favorite thing, Laughing Cow Light Swiss Wedges…yum.

Random fun thing: Indexed, a blog on index cards. So very smart.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
  • 3/4 cup coarsely chopped shallots (about 3 large)
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • Coarse salt
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots and thyme; cook until shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. Add flour; cook until incorporated, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.

Add asparagus and 3 cups water; season generously with salt. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover, and simmer, until asparagus is bright green and just tender, 2 to 4 minutes.

Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until very smooth. (To prevent splattering, fill the blender only halfway, and allow heat to escape: Remove the cap from the hole in the lid, and cover the lid with a dish towel.) Stir in cream and lemon juice.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast.

One response to “Green, Green”

  1. Hah! You’re back! I just thought I would pop in and check to see if you had it up again. Glad I did. Oh Laughing Cow! I love the stuff, I really love the Laughing cow baby belles…..

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