Asparagus Soup

I'm not a soup person.
Sure, I like my grandma's taco soup, Progresso's chicken and wild rice soup, and on occasion La Madeline's french onion soup, but other than that, I usually don't eat the stuff. Even when I'm sick I don't eat it, well except the time I got a free bowl of cheddar broccoli soup from Black Eyed Peas because there was a mix up with the waiters and orders which was fine by me because it was the only thing I could eat.
I'm more of a club sandwich and salad kind of girl.

But I'm trying to broaden my horizons. And that means eating (or drinking) more soup.
I already have recipes for french onion soup (coming soon), a leftover turkey soup, a winter pea and ham soup, and a carrot ginger soup. But I wouldn't hold your breathe for the carrot soup.
Here's the deal...
I like carrots; raw, crunchy carrots. Not cooked, mushy, and overly sweetened carrots that resembles baby food. You can blame my old elementary school cafeteria for that. They also almost ruined me for grilled cheese sandwiches too, but luckily my dad is an expert grilled cheese maker.
But I'm going to try and make myself try the soup before passing judgement.

I sprinkled fresh cracked black pepper over each serving.

      The bacon gives the soup a nice crunch and saltiness. The asparagus tops also crunchy which is a contrast to the creamy soup. The soup itself is rich, creamy due to the beans and yogurt, and has a small kick from the cayenne. This is one of the meals that looks fancy and like you have slaved in the kitchen when all you really did was chop up ingredients, add it to a pot, and then blend it up.
I just added the leftover tops and bacon into the same container that I put the leftover soup in and the asparagus tops still had their crunch when reheated the next day.

Asparagus Soup

adapted from: A Spicy Perspective

Serves:2-3

• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1 small onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 bunch of asparagus (1 lb)
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 3/4 can of 14 oz. can white beans, drainer and rinsed
• 2 tbsp. Greek yogurt or sour cream
• pinch of cayenne (I added about 1/8tsp)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 small lemon
• 3 slices of bacon, chopped

1. In a large pot, heat the oil/butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute for 5 minutes. Chop the garlic and add into the pot, saute for 3 minutes.

2. Cut the tops off of the asparagus and set aside. Cut the rough ends off the bottom.

3. Chop the asparagus in 1'' segments and add to the pot. Saute for 5 minutes, or until the asparagus is bright green and tender.

4.Add in the beans, stock, cayenne, pepper, salt, and juice of the lemon. Simmer for 25 minutes, uncovered.

5. Let the soup cool slightly before blending; you can use a immersion blender or a kitchen blender.. If using a kitchen blender, you will have to blend the hot soup in parts as not to make the a mess. Stir the yogurt to the blended soup.

6. In a small skillet, cook the chopped bacon and add the asparagus tops and saute for 3 minutes. Drain any excess grease and garnish over each serving.