Cream of White Asparagus Soup

I forgot to  write down the recipe for this soup the first time I made it, so I had to improvise a little, again... I forgot the bay leaves, of course, but they were my own addition in the first place, anyway, so I don't think much harm was done.

This and all my cream soups are not for the purists, I tend to add so called "filling" vegetables to them in order to achieve a thick consistency without using too much cream, the flavor might suffer, but it's better for our waistlines. For this soup however I used a fair amount of half and half: I think the soup would be too bland without it.

Ingredients: 

2 bunch white asparagus, approx. 1 kg (2 lb)

4 medium white potatoes

3-4 stalks celery

2 shallots

2 tbs butter

2 l (32 oz)  chicken or vegetable broth

a dash of nutmeg or 4-5 fresh bay leaves

3/4 cup half and half

croutons, crispy bacon and parsley or basil to garnish (optional)

Preparation: Wash and trim the asparagus, setting aside the tips. Peel the potatoes and dice them. Wash the celery stalks and slice them. Roughly chop the onion and saute in 1 tbs butter on medium for a couple of minutes, then add the rest of the vegetables with 1/2 cup water, and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the vegetables from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add the broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until all vegetables are cooked through. Add the nutmeg then let the soup cool a little before pureeing in a food processor or a blender. Add the half and half and heat the soup through before serving. Use the asparagus tips to garnish the soup along with croutons and chopped parsley/basil and/or crispy bacon (I'm using turkey bacon to cut down the calories and fat a bit). Just saute the tips in 1 tbs butter for 5-10 minutes, until they're tender. Enjoy!