When your husband and kids come home with an enormous bag of Meyer lemons from your in-laws' tree, it's mandatory that you start making Lemon Sugar Puff Pastry Twists and Grilled Lemon & Rosemary Chicken without delay. Before you freeze the rest of the lemon (see How To: Store Lemon Juice), pull out some asparagus and use a few scrapings of zest from said lemons for a healthy, vegan (but creamy) asparagus soup. This is bound to capture your husband's attention, who will likely whisper "Wow, this soup is so good!" while focusing his attention on scraping every last silky spoonful out of his bowl.
Last weekend, my husband, kids and I loaded up the car and headed for sunny California. They dropped me off on the doorstep of Camp Blogaway in a wooded enclave tucked away in the San Bernardino Mountains and then continued on to my in-laws' house in southern California. Last year's trip to Camp Blogaway had me hooked. Aside from taking place in a beautiful setting, it is a blogging conference with personality. It is a supportive attitude where bloggers of different levels of experience are there to share and soak up information. It is a chance to spend time with old blogging friends and to make new connections.
The whole dang group.
This year I was thrilled to be a speaker at the conference, along with my dear friend, Rachael of La Fuji Mama. We tackled the topic of revamping your blog, providing a list of things to consider when going through a re-design.
Left to right: Cheryl of Black Girl Chef's Whites, Cathy of Show Food Chef, Kelly of Evil Shenanigans, me, Andrew of Eating Rules
Carolyn of All Day I Dream About Food, Rachael of La Fuji Mama
The asparagus soup recipe:
Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan set over medium-low heat. Add the onion and sweat (cook without browning) until it is is soft and translucent, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Turn the heat to medium, add the thyme, lemon zest and asparagus pieces. Saute, stirring frequently, about 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the broth, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove the soup from the heat and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes (so the top doesn't blow off the blender).
Process the soup in a blender, in two batches, until the soup is smooth. Return to the saucepan, stir in coconut milk, reheat, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.
This soup can also be served chilled – a nice treat on a hot day.
Other vegan vegetable soups:
Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup
Winter Vegetable Soup
Creamy Zucchini & Coconut Milk Soup
Printable Recipe
Creamy Asparagus, Lemon & Coconut Milk Soup Recipe (Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
- ½ medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 â…“ pounds asparagus trimmed & cut into 1-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 ¾ cups vegetable broth
- ¼ cup light coconut milk
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan set over medium-low heat. Add the onion and sweat (cook without browning) until the onion is soft and translucent, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for additional 2 minutes.
- Turn the heat to medium, add the thyme, lemon zest and asparagus pieces. Saute, stirring frequently, about 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove soup from the heat and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes (so the top doesn't blow off the blender).
- Process the soup in a blender, in two batches, until the soup is smooth.
- Return to the saucepan, stir in coconut milk, reheat, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.
- This soup can also be served chilled – a nice treat on a hot day.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Jamie | My Baking Addiction
This sounds like my kind of conference and the soup looks absolutely heavenly!
Cathy @ She Paused 4 Thought
I so enjoyed getting to know you at Camp Blogaway. I appreciate all of your great insight. I can't wait to try to the soup.
Swathi
Delicious soup. Love lemons in anything.
Kalyn
Camp Blogaway was definitely a lot of fun! I am still at Rands and hoping I can get some of his Meyer lemons!
Jen at The Three Little Piglets
I so wanted to go this year, but I'm already blowing my stash on going to BlogHer food in Seattle. Sounds like you had a great time though!
Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry
I cannot wait to make this scrumptious soup! Lemon and thyme with asparagus sound absolutely delightful together.
Barbara | Creative Culinary
I love all things asparagus but not sure I've ever made asparagus soup. How can that be? This will be corrected soon...thanks for a great recipe.
Jennifer
Love the pictures and glad to hear you had a great time! Thanks for the recipe--I love trying asparagus new ways.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thanks, Jennifer. As soon as springtime hits, I'm always looking for new ways to cook asparagus. This quickly became one of our favorites.
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel
What a fun setting for a smaller group conference!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
It really was, Rachel. You just can't beat the beauty of the mountains in the springtime.
Nancie McDermott
Such a lovely image, and the recipe has me nodding, "Oh, yes! This. Tonight." Your presentation at Camp Blogaway was a highlight for me, inspiring and practical.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thank you so much, Nancie! It was such a pleasure to meet you and I was so glad to hear your perspective on recipe writing.