Asparagus Soup

First off, I apologize for not posting much this week. Fortunately, Sandy passed lightly over my area. We had a night of wind and rain, but we didn't lose power. However, I was swept up in Halloween. This year I've been taking time to enjoy as many of the perks of each season as I possibly can. I feel like cooking has helped me do this because there are so many flavors I feel I ignore or don't enjoy thoroughly. I'm really bummed that there's only one more month of fall. I'm also a little nervous because I'm only a little over half-way through all the recipes for the fall section of the cookbook.

I do have a mini-cook-a-thon planned for Sunday though with some friends, and I think I might do a recipe or two on my own this coming week.

Not to mention, this month also includes Thanksgiving where I hope to use a desert from the cookbook for a family gathering, and I'd really like to have a second Thanksgiving feast with all my friends if schedules allow for it.

Regardless, tonight I bring you a recipe that is not from the Beekman cookbook but is still really tasty. Well, if you like asparagus. If you don't, then maybe this isn't the soup for you.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large shallot, peeled and chopped
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1.5" pieces
2.5 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
1 slice whole wheat or white bread, torn with your hands
1.25 cup fresh parsley leaves
1 cup 2% Greek yogurt

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Saute the shallot and thyme until it is tender, about four minutes. Add the asparagus and chicken broth. Make sure the asparagus is covered. Bring to a simmer and cook until the asparagus is tender. It should be a bright green color. This should take 5-8 minutes.

2. Add the torn bread and parsley. Make sure the bread is submerged. 

3. Pour the mixture into your blender. When using the blender, make sure you leave the plastic part in the center of the lid out so that the steam has a place to vent. Otherwise, you might wind up with an explosive mess on your hands. To prevent the soup from spraying out the top, cover the hole with a towel so that the steam can escape.

When you pour it in, don't fill it too far. I think I actually poured too much in there. It worked, but I had to use a spoon to push things down a few times. When you fill it about half-way, that isn't really an issue.

4. Puree until smooth.

For this recipe, the bread is really important. It's what thickens your soup and gives it a texture.  I'm really digging the color of it. I used almonds as a garnish, but they're not really necessary. Like, who was I trying to impress? Myself? My cat? Whatever. It tasted good.