Cream of Asparagus Soup

 I had planned on making a different kind of soup yesterday but when I went to the grocery store they had asparagus on sale.  That is something I can never pass up.  I started thinking about making cream of asparagus soup for dinner and wondered if it would be a shame to use such a lovely vegetable in that way; but I went for it anyway because it's something I've wanted to make at home.  I looked up a few recipes but none of them seemed like what I was after so I just decided to wing it.  That might not have been the best idea because I have had a string of kitchen disasters lately.  (I will post more about that when it's not so painful to talk about.)  When things don't go well in the kitchen, it really affects my mood.  Luckily for everyone around here, the soup was a hit.
Tyler expressed his reservations when I told him what I was making.  He didn't know if he would like the soup even though he loves asparagus, but he was wrong (I love proving him wrong Ü).  Calvin even ate quite a bit of it and he will never eat asparagus by itself.  

It is really simple to make.  I pureed the soup so that there weren't any big chunks because I knew if I left evidence, my kids would be less likely to eat it.  That step can probably be left out if you don't care to do it.

Cream of Asparagus Soup
1 T olive oil
1 lb asparagus
2 cups chicken broth (or bullion and water)
2 T white cooking wine
1 cup 2% evaporated milk
1/2 tsp lemon or lime zest
1 T corn starch
cheese for garnish.

Directions:  Take an end of an asparagus stalk in each hand and bend until it breaks, discard bottom piece and continue with remaining stalks.  Cut into 1 inch pieces (or smaller if you aren't going to puree it).  Heat oil over med-high heat until it starts to smoke.  Add asparagus and saute for about 5 minutes 

Add broth and cooking wine and zest.  Bring to boil and lower heat and simmer until asparagus is tender.  Transfer mixture to blender or food processor and process until smooth.  Return to pan.  Add an ice cube to evaporated milk (cornstarch dissolves easier with cold liquids), add cornstarch and stir or whisk until lumps are gone.  Add to pan and cook and stir until thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes. 

This makes about 4-1 cup servings, so adjust the recipe accordingly. 

It was enough for our family but we also served it with the Herb and Cheese Bubble Loaf and we ate quite a bit of bread too.

Oh, and I am totally counting this as one of my vegetarian meals for the week even though I used chicken broth.  Is that cheating?  The whole goal was just not to plan the meal around the meat, right? ;)