What a great spring and summer soup! It has a truly wonderful mild asparagus flavor. Add a touch of lemon and freshly ground pepper to suit your taste.

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 large leek (white and light green part only), thinly sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 cans (15 ounces each) fat-free chicken broth
1 cup water
1 pound fresh asparagus, diced
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
seasoned salt to taste
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup fat-free half and half or cream
1 fresh lemon, quartered

In a large saucepan or soup pot, melt butter. Add leek and shallots. Cook over medium heat until tender. Add broth, water, and asparagus. Bring to a boil. Cover pan and continue to boil gently for 10 minutes or just until asparagus is tender but not mushy. It is important not to overcook the asparagus to keep the true green color.

Using a hand held immersion blender, puree soup. Add celery salt, seasoned salt, white pepper, and freshly ground pepper to taste. Add half and half.

Turn off burner until ready to serve. Reheat to serve. Squeeze a small amount of fresh lemon juice over each individual serving.

Serves 4

Nutritional Information per serving:

Calories: 80
Fat, gm.: 3
Protein, gm.: 11
Carbs, gm.: 10
Cholesterol, mg.: 1.5
Fiber, gm.: 3