SPRING

The first day of Spring has finally arrived. So much to look forward to....
New blossoms budding on the trees from their long winters nap.
Placing my grapevine wreath covered with bright yellow silk forsythia on my front door.
Fresh green grass that fills all of the yards throughout my neighbourhood and beyond.
Colourful tulip and freesia bouquets at every local grocery store and farmers market.

Daffodils and crocus start to show their bright yellows and purples in flower beds everywhere.
I've even seen magnolia trees in bloom today.
This has surely been a stellar year so far with warm weather.  St. Catharines and the surrounding area has been blessed with temperature in the high teens and low 20's for a couple of weeks now.  And I'm loving every warm sun shining day.

Oh, and of course Spring cleaning.  But not only our homes need a good cleaning,  so do our bodies. A detox if you will.  Try going on one of  Dr. Gillian McKeith's detoxes, I bought her book  "You Are What You Eat"    at Chapters book store. I tried her step by step detox day, and being that I feel I am pretty healthy already, all I really did was urinate a lot that day because the detox included drinking a lot of fresh juices, tea and water. I didn't get any of the upset feeling or after effects that may come from a detox diet. You can also try a juice cleanse or the Master Cleanse, aka the lemonade diet ( the book for this cleanse can be purchased at White Meadow Maple Farm, or on the net at http://www.amazon.ca/) or just eat raw fruit and vegetables for a day or two, try any detox formula's on the market, but I do recommend to check with your doctor to make sure the product is right for you.  any of these detox ideas will give your digestive system a well deserved break.

One more thing that comes with Spring are fresh herbs in the garden making their way out of the ground. Fiddleheads with their spiral heads, fresh bright green peas and asparagus peeking their pointy heads up toward the sun.
Asparagus was my total inspiration for this soup recipe.
During my visit with my mom during the March Break, reminiscing and looking through some of her cookbooks, I came across an asparagus soup recipe.  I used this recipe as a guide for my own version of this delicious asparagus soup. Even my very skeptical dad and picky non asparagus eating teenage son enjoyed this Spring Asparagus Soup.

Dice up 1 onion  and saute in a soup pot on medium/high heat in  about 2Tblsp butter and 2Tblsp. olive oil, and brown lightly. Add about 4Tblsp. flour  to make a roux.  Stir together flour and onion for a few minutes on medium heat to cook the flour a bit.  Add 2 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes breaking them up with your fingers as you drop them into the pot, and 4 cups of water.  Stir.  Add in a bunch of asparagus(washed , trimmed and cut into bite size pieces).  Turn down heat to med/low and let the asparagus simmer until tender crisp, about 5-10 minutes.  (Do not add the tips, they will be added in the end)
Squeeze in 1/4 of a lemon ( about 1Tblsp or so) and 1 tsp. ground coriander. Simmer for a few minutes while flavours combine.  Meanwhile steam asparagus tips in a small saucepan with a little water on med/high heat until tender. Using a hand blender, mix up soup breaking up the asparagus. Now stir in 1/2 cup milk and cooked asparagus tips.
 That's it your done.
 Enjoy.
Serves 4 to 6.