Leftover Peelings

"You are not going to get me to eat that" was the battle cry as he passed by the leftover slimy asparagus peelings. Bwahahaha. On another note, what kind of magical creature do you see in the scoop of creme fraiche?

Asparagus Soup
Adapted from Wolfgang Puck

2 cups chicken broth

1 lb. fresh asparagus

1 clove garlic minced

4 - 6 green onions chopped

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. flour

1/2 cup cream (more if desired)

1/2 cup milk (more if desired)

Salt to taste

Break asparagus at end to remove tough part of stem. Chop into 1 inch pieces. Melt butter in saucepan and saute onions and garlic, stir in flour and chicken broth and lemon juice. Add asparagus pieces and simmer for 20 - 25 minutes until asparagus is tender. Place mixture, except for asparagus tips in a blender or food processor and puree. Return to saucepan and add cream and salt and pepper to taste. Heat thoroughly. Serve in bowls and garnish with asparagus tips.

The Skinny: Use light chicken broth and substitute an equal measure of light half and half or evaporated milk for the cream.

Creme Fraiche

This tastes amazing. Use it instead of sour cream. Or any other way you would like to get it onto your tongue. Pictured below it is used like butter with a biscuit topped with creme fraiche and jam.

Creme Fraiche
(Kind of pronounced krem, like the krem in Kremlin, fresh)
From foodwishes.blogspot.com

2 cups heavy whipping creme, do not use ultra-pasteurized
2 T. cultured buttermilk, not ultra-pasteurized and relatively fresh

Place ingredients in a jar and mix. Cover with a breathable lid such as a coffee filter or cheese cloth. Secure with rubber band. Place in a warm spot (72-75 degrees). The oven with the light on is a good place. I placed my near a crockpot that was turned on. Let it sit undisturbed for 24 hours. After 24 hours, remove lid and mix. Place a regular lid on the jar and refrigerate for 24 hours. Try not to eat the whole jar. It will keep 7-14 days.

Update: TZ made creme fraiche and then used it as a starter to make a new batch. It worked great. All he did was added a heaping spoonful of creme fraiche to 2 c. of cream and mixed it well then followed the rest of the directions. Thanks TZ!

Creme Fraiche Update

The creme fraiche is not thickening so I am going to warm in it the yogurt maker with a little yogurt starter. Will it be yogurt or creme fraiche? I'll be groovin' with one of these... Far out.

Rock Hard Buttermilk Powder

I have a chunk of buttermilk powder that would break a tooth if you tried to bite it. I chipped away at it with a knife and am using the shavings to make homemade creme fraiche.

How to make your own crème fraîche from Bon Appetit

Combine 2 tablespoons of buttermilk with 1 cup of whipping cream in a glass container. Cover and let it sit at room temperature (about 70ºF) for 8 to 24 hours. Don't despair if your cream doesn't thicken after 22 hours; sometimes it happens nearly all at once. When it has thickened, stir well and refrigerate up to 10 days.

Today I am making a lower calorie version using half and half instead of cream and using 1 1/2 t. of buttermilk powder instead of buttermilk. To mix you can shake or slightly warm it but I threw mine in the blender for a good mixing. I had to break up those pebbles of buttermilk powder.