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Creamy Asparagus Soup

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I made this the other night and still have leftovers even despite having a large bowl for lunch today. It reminded me of when my mum used to make asparagus soup for family dinners as a kid. Some of my fondest memories were watching her in the kitchen standing over the stove whipping up some of her favorite recipes.

Normally when I make asparagus soup, I used a dry mix from the store. But I thought I would go all out and make it from scratch.

Next time I make this, I’ll definitely cook the asparagus first and puree the soup base which should result in a delicious, thick and creamy soup.

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups of asparagus chopped into 1″ pieces precooked (boiled or roasted)
  • 1 cup of spring onion diced
  • 1 cup of heavy cream or milk
  • 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1/3 stick of butter or 1/3 cup
  • 1/3 cup of flour
  • 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
  • Spices: salt, black pepper, parsley

Preparation

  • In a large pot melt the butter on medium heat. Add in the garlic and onions. Cook until onions are tender.
  • Add in the flour and stir constantly until the flour is fully cooked. Add in the cream a little bit at a time (about 1/4 cup) whisk constantly.
  • Add in the stock – or you can use water and a bouillon cube
  • Bring to a boil. Reduce heat.
  • Add in the asparagus and spices. Stir well.
  • Simmer for about 30 minutes.
  • Pour the soup into a blender and mix until you have a nice creamy puree mixture.

And the soup is done! This recipe will serve up to four people or you will have leftovers for a couple of days if you’re single like me.

Serve on its own or with a grilled cheese sandwich. This is how I ate it today and it was delicious. I skipped the puree step this time and it was still delicious. I also added in mushrooms because I had a package I needed to use up – but most recipes just use asparagus.

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Banana Coffee Bread

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This might be the best banana bread I have ever made. I actually measured things this time around and watched the oven carefully. I just polished off TWO servings, so. I can attest – this loaf will turn out moist, sweet and delicious.

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/2 cups of rolled or quick oats
  • Optional: 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and /or nutmeg

You will need a large baking dish for this recipe. I used a deep dish baking pan that I inherited from my mum and it worked very well. Also, one less dish to wash. This dish has handles which makes it easy to grab.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease your dish with Pam spray or butter. I use the Pam Coconut Oil spray and it works well. Add the dry ingredients into the bowl and mix well – saving the oats for last. Add in the oats, and gently stir the dry mix with a wooden spoon. For additional flavour, you can add in cinnamon or nutmeg – or both! Set the dry mix aside while you prepare the wet ingredients.

This is an alloy steel baking dish – deep enough for a large cake mix or casserole!

Preparation – Wet Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 stick of unsalted butter (cold) (or about 1/2 cup)
  • 3 medium bananas ripe (almost brown)
  • 1/2 cup of brewed coffee (dark is delicious)
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar (topping)
  • Optional: walnuts for topping (I did not use this)

I used my stand-up blender (also inherited from my mum) for this part and just mixed everything together in the blender. You could also use an immersion blender in a separate bowl. Use whatever you have!

For this part, you can use a blender or handmixer to mash up the bananas. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients, one ingredient at a time and blend/mix until you have a nice puree like mixture. Make sure not to over blend it – you won’t want it too runny.

Grab the dish with your dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture in. Mix well with a wooden spoon until all the flour is blended in nicely and it looks something like the blurry picture below (sorry about that). Add in the chocolate chips last. Stir with the wooden spoon again.

This next step is where you can let your creativity shine. I didn’t have any nuts on hand, but for the topping you can add walnuts or almonds. I used chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon of sugar.

Baked this massive loaf in the oven at 350F- the nice thing about preheating the oven while you prepare the ingredients is that the oven will be nice and toasty warm. Cooking times will vary. My oven took about 45 minutes. You will want to check the loaf around the 40 minute mark with a toothpick. I wound up putting the loaf back in for a few minutes and it was perfect. I mean, this is the best I’ve ever made – and I’ve made a lot of loaves!

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