April is Earth Month, so get ready to celebrate all of the reasons that our planet is incredible. One way to do so is by eating delicious green veggies! My favorite option to get my veg on is with asparagus. It bursts with tastiness each spring. I am thankful that farmers are patient enough to grow asparagus as it can take 2-3 years before it really begins to produce tall and delicious stalks of veggie goodness.
In honor of Earth Month (and my awesome husband who happens to have an April birthday), I would like to share an asparagus soup recipe. It is a welcome pop of green, steamy goodness with tastes the season. And it can help you stay warm on the blustery Chicago spring days that, ahem, might still feel a bit more like winter. BTW, this recipe is definitely husband approved. As for the kiddos, I scouted out a couple of other options on the good ol’ interwebs that the little ones are sure to gobble up.
Steamy spring asparagus soup
Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes (Inactive time: 30 minutes)
Servings: 4
Ingredients
2 pounds of asparagus
3 tablespoons of butter
1 onion, sliced
6 cups of water
6 chicken bouillon cubes
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Directions
Break asparagus into three pieces: woody stems, stalks and tips. Discard woody stems then rinse stalks and tips. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter on medium/high heat and cook tips until tender (3-4 minutes). Remove from heat, sprinkle with salt and set aside. Try really hard not to eat all of the tips during the cooking process! It will be difficult, because they are addictive.
Add 2 tablespoons of butter, asparagus stalks and sliced onion (cook and stir for 5 minutes). Add 6 cups of water and turn up heat to high. When water comes to a boil, add 6 chicken bouillon cubes. Allow mixture to boil for 5 minutes. Turn off and let cool about 30 minutes, because you don’t want to blend hot liquids unless, of course, you want abstract asparagus art all over your walls.
Once it is cool, blend in batches. The size of my blender usually requires two batches. I run each half through once on the lowest setting to get everything roughly mixed. Then I return it to the pot. Add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Run it through the blender a final time on the highest setting to achieve a smooth consistency. Return to pot, and taste. Add salt and pepper to desired flavor. Heat on medium, stirring occasionally until hot. Serve and garnish with asparagus tips.
Bonus points if you were not too distracted by kiddo shenanigans at the grocery store and actually remembered to grab a freshly baked, crusty bread to dip in the soup.
Bacon and Asparagus Pizza
My toddler Isaiah just turned two, and he has already perfected his pizza dance. I know my little guy is not alone in his affection for the cheesy pies. While pizza and bacon are not exactly winning any awards for healthiness, this recipe is sure to get your little ones to eat a bunch of asparagus and that sounds like a parenting win to me.
Green Bean and Asparagus Tempura
This recipe is a finger food-friendly side on a night when Asian food is on the family menu. My crew is all about the stir-fry dishes with lots of veggies and tofu. My girl, Giada De Laurentiis, and I are totally tight, if tight means that if I have just watched way too much Food Network over the years. Anyway … she always puts great recipes out there, and I could definitely see my tot happily nibbling away on these. Another plus is that it brings green beans to the table too, and when it comes to veggies, the more the merrier, right?
Happy Earth Month and asparagus noshing!
