26 Oct 2012 7 Comments
Roasted Creamy Asparagus Soup (non dairy)
Have you ever had one of those mornings that you feel by 10am you are ready for a nap or a drink…or maybe both! Well, that is what I felt this morning. Last night as I laid in bed I imagined waking up and getting out of the house by 8am to exercise by taking a walk with my kids in the stroller. We would go to the park and in my head I was imagining wearing my 7 week old baby in my UrgoBaby, as I pushed my toddler on the swing. And yes, the birds were chirping away, sun was shining while we were all smiling and laughing together.
Well this morning I woke up to a baby crying and my toddler screaming and it was cold and rainy outside. To top it off, my toddler decided that today would be a perfect day to scream, fight and tantrum about everything. I think it took an hour to get him dressed. My dream morning vanished in a split second. We were out of the house at 10:15 and after a very long morning I put my kids down for a nap at 12:30 and sat down for the first time today and thought, “Whew, what a day!” I really needed some “me time” and one way I like to relax is to cook or bake while listening to some good music. My husband and I get such a thrill coming up with new and exciting healthy meals!
For my 30th birthday my parents bought me a Vitamix and I sure love using it. I use it mainly for making nut milks (we don’t eat dairy in our house), dressings, sauces and smoothies. I have been so excited for the weather to change so that I could finally use it to make soup. Since I knew that there were two pounds of asparagus in my fridge that needed to be used I thought it would be a perfect day for a warm hearty bowl of roasted creamy asparagus soup!
Here is how I made it:
2-3 pounds asparagus, ends trimmed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1 onion, quartered
4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
2 Tablespoon raw cashews
2 Tbsp. of nutritional yeast (optional) I love the Bragg brand-this adds a cheesy flavor and is a great source of vitamins
1/2 teaspoon pepper
salt to taste
1/2 lemon
1) Preheat oven to 350F. Place the asparagus and onion on baking tray and pour 1 Tbsp. of olive oil, salt and pepper over asparagus. Place the garlic (with a touch of olive oil) in foil and wrap it up closed. Bake for 20 min.
2) While the asparagus is baking take out your blender and blend the cashews with vegetable broth. Add asparagus, onion and garlic and blend until smooth. Add 1/2 lemon, nutritional yeast (optional) and salt and pepper,to taste. Make sure to save 3-5 asparagus to use as garnish.
3) Heat up soup over stop top (or Vitamix if you have it) while stirring . Once it comes to a slight boil turn off heat. Garnish each bowl with the reserved chopped asparagus spears and serve hot. Sprinkle with a little grated lemon peel.
*Since we have a dairy free house I experiment with a lot of healthy milk and cream replacements. The cashews give the “cream” texture to the soup and makes it nice and thick.Plus, cashews are a good source of magnesium, protein and other vitamins.
*I like to make a big batch at a time of vegetable or chicken stock and freeze them by the cup so we can easily grab them out of the freezer when we need it
Enjoy! Tell me what you think 
Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest
Oct 26, 2012 @ 03:00:09
Just out of curiosity, why are you dairy-free?
The recipe sounds great! I’d have to alter it slightly as my husband is allergic to nuts.
Oct 26, 2012 @ 04:31:06
I am mostly dairy free for health reasons. As a kid I ate/drank a lot of dairy and was always sick, had asthma and allergy issues and horrible acne. In college I got into a more “hippy” natural lifestyle and started to research health and nutrition. The more I learned about dairy, the more I was convinced that I needed to stay away from it. I love the occasional dairy meal but we only eat it out of our house.My husband and I are very health conscious and decided we would make healthier food decisions if we didn’t bring it into our house. When my son was born I noticed that every time I nursed him after eating dairy, he would scream and become very fussy. The doctor said that could very well be a milk protein allergy. He is now 2 1/2 years old and never has had dairy. I make almond, sunflower seed and coconut milk for him. He has also never been sick.
Oct 26, 2012 @ 05:55:28
sorry you had such a bad day but the soup sounds great !!! love the blog.
Nov 30, 2012 @ 00:51:56
Your post, Roasted Creamy Asparagus Soup (non dairy) | This American Mama, is really well written and insightful. Glad I found your website, warm regards from Alfredo!
Dec 12, 2012 @ 03:15:58
I am totally making this next week. Sounds delicious and I love warm soups in the fall and winter.
Dec 13, 2012 @ 03:02:32
My son loves it! Since it is a thick soup, you can turn it into a meal by serving it in a warm/toasted sourdough bread bowl
Dec 24, 2012 @ 04:00:07
I have been going without dairy for some time now since liltte Creed is allergic. Did you know there are about 15 different names for dairy. Goats milk has the same protein he its allergic to. Have you tried better than creamcheese or better than sour cream? I now like it better than the real stuff and freddy’s has it. Also I luv almond milk the best we cook with it and if you make a strawberry milk shake w/the almond vanilla and frozen strawberries it is way better than the real thing and not so many calories. I feel way better without the milk myself, but so far the only chocolate I can find is the guittard dark chips. Why did you cut dairy Jen? Miss u xo ps u should try coconut milk ice cream a couple soon fulls and you are done!