Total Cheapskate Asparagus Soup

My step-grandmother, Edda, was the ch - oops, excuse me, the most frugal person I've ever met in my life - and that is saying plenty. (I come from a long line of Yankees and Germans, so I know what I'm talking about!) When she died and we went through her cupboards, we found that she had the largest collection of used tin foil, saran wrap, rubber bands, jars, cans, and waxed paper known in the civilized world. God, I miss her.

So one of the things she turned me on to was how to use the cast-off ends of the asparagus spears to make a lovely soup. You know how you have to bend them at the base until the tough parts snap off? Doesn't it just kill you to throw away all of that "perfectly good asparagus?" It does me! So, here you are, about to roast four pounds of organic, early season local asparagus. Even at bargain prices you'd be pitching over $5 worth of asparagus into the compost heap.

Fortunately, you saved the snapped off tips when you made the roasted asparagus, as I recommended, yes? So here's what to do with them: (and you can do this while the asparagus roasts, and then bag the results aside in the fridge to make the soup for tomorrow's lunch, btw).... but, back to the matter at hand:

Using the sharpest chef's knife you have, slice off the least bit of the old, cut end that you can easily cut through; the goal is to eliminate what is too tough to eat, but to save as much of the stalk as possible for the soup. If it's too tough to cut fairly easily, move your knife up the piece and try again until you can. One of the clues you will get is how much of the stalk has turned purplish-white; the more it trends towards that color, the more likely it is to be very tough. A few pieces will be so tough that they go straight into the compost, along with the cast-off trimmings.

Take the remaining piece of stalk, and using a vegetable peeler, peel off the skin very thinly all the way around. Yes, this all takes a little while, but if you are frugal, and it's nice asparagus, it's worth it, right?

Once you have finished your trimming and peeling, chop up what you have left crosswise into lengths of about 1/4 - 1/2" inches.

Now, put the proceeds into a saucepan big enough to hold it with room to spare, and fill it just to cover with chicken or vegetable broth. (I like to use Better Than Bouillon Organic; very tasty and very convenient. It comes in a jar, and you use a teaspoon per cup of water. I use a generous teaspoonful for this.)

Put the pan over medium heat and boil the asparagus until it is just tender. Then, using either an immersion blender (my favorite - it's this wand thingie that you use to blend right in the pan) or a regular blender or food processor, whirl it up until it's pureed; it's okay if there are a few chunks left for texture. Now, add just enough heavy cream to make it all come together in luxury, and season it to taste with freshly ground pepper (and salt, if you need more) and whirl it up until it's all blended. Check and adjust the seasoning, as needed.

Voila! Total Cheapskate's Asparagus Soup. (Frankly, I will often make a batch while everyone is out of the house, and eat the whole thing for my lunch. Yum.)