Roasted Asparagus Soup

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Number of servings: 4

Yield: 4 cups

 Ingredients

• 2 pounds asparagus, ends trimmed
• olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/2 small onion, sliced
• 2 cups warm vegetable broth or “no-chicken” broth
• 1/2 ounce raw cashews (1 heaping tablespoon) or 1 tablespoon cashew butter
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• salt to taste
• splash of lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450F. Place the asparagus spears on a baking sheet. Sprinkle them with olive oil.  Roast for 5 minutes. Turn asparagus and sprinkle the onion and garlic over it. Roast for about 10 more minutes, until asparagus is very tender. If anything looks like it’s browning too much, take it out. (Important Note: These directions are for thicker asparagus. Thin asparagus may take much less time so start with 5 minutes, turn and add onions and garlic, and check again in 5.)
2. While the asparagus is roasting, blend 1/2 cup of the broth with the cashews and pepper until smooth.
3. When the asparagus is done, select several of the best-looking spears, remove the tops, and set aside to use as garnish. Cut the remaining asparagus into pieces and put it and the onion and garlic into the blender, along with the remaining broth. Cover the blender and blend on high until perfectly smooth.
4. If you’re using a Vita-Mix, you can blend it on high for a few more minutes until piping hot (remove the center cup and cover with a kitchen towel to allow steam to escape). Otherwise, pour the soup into a saucepan and heat until hot, stirring frequently. Add salt, if needed, to taste.
5. Pour into bowls and splash with lemon juice. Garnish each bowl with the reserved asparagus spears and serve hot.

They ate every bit!

Sizzling Tofu with Ginger Root Ankake Sauce

This recipe is a long time Many Hands House favorite, adapted from The Book of Tofu

Tofu

1/4 cup of kudzu powder, arrowroot, or cornstarch

2 egg whites (we use egg replacer, with a bit of turmeric)
18 ounces of extra-firm tofu
oil for deep frying

Combine arrowroot and egg whites in a small bowl; mix until smooth.
Cut tofu into twelve equal cubes (or thin rectangles), dip into the batter, and deep-fry.  Serve immediately with ankake sauce (below).

Ankake Sauce

2/3 cup dashi, stock, or water
3 tablespoons shoyu
2 tablespoons natural sugar
2 teaspons arrowroot or cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons of warm water
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger root or ginger root juice

Combine dashi, sugar and shoyu in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.  Stir in dissolved cornstarch and ginger root and cook for about 1 minute, or until thick.

Archer thought it should be presented differently:

 
We served it with edamame. Wolfie likes to eat his with chopsticks.