Soup Chick®

Chilled asparagus orange soup, from A Veggie Venture

At long last, local asparagus have landed at our farmers market. Yippee doo dah! When it comes to asparagus, I'm a huge fan, and I'm also a bit of a snob. I buy in season, eat as much as I can every which way, and then -- a brief six weeks later when the growing season ends -- I give up asparagus for the rest of the year. When I saw this unusual recipe from A Veggie Venture that combines asparagus with orange, I had to share it with you. Alanna recommends you make this chilled asparagus orange soup ahead, and let it sit for at least 12 hours to allow the flavors to mellow together. I hope you'll try it.

Roasted veggie soup, from Gluten-Free Easily

I love soups that use what you already have on hand, and if you're a person like Shirley of gluten-free easily, who loves to roast all different combinations of vegetables, you'll always be ready to make this roasted veggie soup. Every time you make a soup like this, the result will be a little bit different, and that makes it fun. Start with sweet bell peppers, as Shirley did, and add onion, garlic, maybe some root vegetables, whatever's in season. Roast everything together and smooth it out with your immersion blender. Add a bit of seasoning, and voila!

Garlic soup Provencal, from More Than Burnt Toast

If ever a soup were meant to be paired with a grilled cheese sandwich, it's this garlic soup Provencal from Val at More Than Burnt Toast. Roast garlic, onion and sage together to form the soup base; the aroma will be heavenly long before you get them into the soup pot. Make this soup now, while you're waiting for the first spring vegetables to ripen in the garden.