Recipe: Rich, Healthy Asparagus Soup

I just discovered how easy and quick this delicious, decadent soup is if you find yourself with a large amount of asparagus. (I always buy the 2 lb bag of asparagus at Sam’s Club.) And it is SO healthy. I just love it!

Here’s a recipe video if you like the full, visual explanation:

Ingredients:

-2 lbs fresh asparagus
-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-3 cups reduced-sodium
-1 can (13.5 oz) reduced-fat coconut milk
-1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
-1/4 teaspoon white pepper, or black pepper

Directions:

1.  Break off or cut the thick, woody ends of the asparagus. Then, cut asparagus spears into thirds.

2. Heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Once shimmery/ hot, add the asparagus and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the garlic and cook another minute, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the broth, enough to just cover all of the asparagus. Once it is starting to boil, lower the head to medium-low and cover. Let cook for 10 minutes, or until asparagus is very tender.

5. Either add to a blender or use a hand-held emulsifier and blend until pureed.

6. Add back to the stove and add the coconut milk. Cook for another 5 minutes, or longer if you want it thicker, on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

7. Season with pepper and any extra salt you may need. Then, it is ready to serve!

You may top it off with seared asparagus or seared mushrooms, or anything else you fancy. Though,  it doesn’t need a thing!

 

Rich, Healthy, Asparagus Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs fresh asparagus
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced or 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth or veggie broth to keep it vegan
  • 1 can 13.5 oz reduced fat coconut milk
  • 1 tsp salt, or more to taste
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper or black pepper if you don't have it

Instructions
 

  • Break off or cut the thick, woody ends of the asparagus. Then, cut asparagus spears into thirds.
  • Heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Once shimmery/ hot, add the asparagus and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the garlic and cook another minute, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the broth, enough to just cover all of the asparagus. Once it is starting to boil, lower the head to medium-low and cover. Let cook for 10 minutes, or until asparagus is very tender.
  • Either add to a blender or use a hand-held emulsifier and blend until pureed.
  • Add back to the stove and add the coconut milk. Cook for another 5 minutes, or longer if you want it thicker, on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
  • Season with pepper and any extra salt you may need. Then, it is ready to serve!
Keyword healthy, recipe, soup, asparagus, asparagus soup, amy westerman,

Food Review: Oliver’s Bistro in Mountain View

We spend a lot of time in Mountain View, but hardly eat out because there’s pretty much one theme: Southern cooking. However, the owners of Skylark Cafe in Leslie have recently opened up Oliver’s Bistro (named after their son) in the Iron Works building downtown. Now I have a go-to place to eat in Mountain View! Here’s the breakdown:

ENVIRONMENT

While Oliver’s Bistro is an easy to find/ walk to location downtown, that also means that it is busy…constantly.  The first attempt to eat here was a Saturday at 1:30, and the small restaurant was full, with most people waiting on food. So, I had to wait until the following Tuesday to try my luck again. I got the last seat at 2:00. I’m not sure there’s ever a time this place isn’t busy during its hours of 11-4?

The interior is absolutely adorable. With blue wooden floors, plants in the windows, cute pillows and modern furniture and light fixtures, it is so cute!

MENU

You can find the menu on their Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/oliversbistroMV/menu/

While it is small, it has so many delicious options, it was hard for me to decide….so I had to come back a couple more times this week. =)
There are some appetizers, such as delicious sounding truffle pomes frites or a bruschetta skillet. There are 6 different entree salads. There are 8 different sandwich options, which come with a choice of one of 6 sides. There are also 3 brick oven pizza options, which seem to be popular. Finally, there are also daily desserts posted on a chalk board, as well as other daily soup and pizza specials.

FOOD

House Salad, $6, with added chicken $3
Description: Mixed greens, roma tomato, crimini mushrooms, red onion ,and parmesan cheese, local honey balsamic vinaigrette

The picture does not do this salad justice. It was very large! All the veggies were cut into perfect bite sizes. The homemade vinaigrette was sweet and delicious! There was plenty of it as well, as I used my grilled baguette to sop it up in the end. The added chicken was cooked perfectly, very juicy and flavorful. I loved it.

Mediterranean Salad, $8, with added chicken $3
Description: Mixed Greens, roma tomato, cucumber, feta cheese, red onion, pepproncinis, kalamata olives, roasted chickpeas, Greek vinaigrette.

This salad was set up for failure following the House Salad, so it was a little disappointing….though still delicious. My main issue was the vegetables were not chopped into bite size pieces like the house salad and there was not as much dressing. However, it was still very tasty and enjoyable.

Roast Beef Sandwich with Veggie Slaw, $11.50
Description: Thin sliced roast beef with cheddar, red onion, mixed greens, roma tomato, radish, and garlic aioli on grilled brioche bun.

This sandwich was SO good! I couldn’t put it down, just rapidly ate it. The garlic aoili was plentiful, garlic-y, and delicious! The roast beef was tender and juicy. The brioche bun was perfect….it held together without being too much bread that it took away from the sandwich. The only issue was the enormous stack of red onion and tomato that made this sandwich about 6 inches tall. I had to remove them just to get my mouth around it. But hey, if my complain is there is TOO much on a sandwich, is that really a complaint? Nah!
The veggie slaw had cranberries and local honey and was pretty tasty. It surprisingly had a kick of heat, and I didn’t really taste any honey. However, I love a healthy, unique slaw, and this was definitely one of those.

OVERALL

The service here is very good. Everyone is super nice and make you feel right at home (even if you stink from hiking for hours and have a hole in your tights…woops) I will definitely be coming in for lunches any chance I can while in Mountain View, ready to try more of the menu!