Tuscan White Beans with Sun-dried Tomatoes

This is such a hearty delicious dish. I decided to throw in some spaghetti but once I tried it, I realized that the vegetables are great enough to stand on their own. The recipe comes from The Vegan Table and the author says that this dish and variations of it can be found in restaurants in and around Florence. Now I don't remember seeing anything similar to this dish when I was in Tuscany last summer, but we didn't look at a lot of menus, I suppose.

Veggies not included in the title but also in the dish are zucchini and spinach. Sauteeing all the vegetables with some herbs in olive oil fills them with so much flavor. This recipe feels so summery, perfect for ushering in the new season and the not-so-welcome humid heat that comes with it.

Marvelous Mushroom Risotto

This recipe comes from The Vegan Table, another book by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. It's a beautiful cookbook, though the format is bizarre, set up by menus rather than an appetizer section, entrees, sides, etc. But that's nothing that post-it notes can't handle.

I love risotto. Love love love it. Sure it's a pain to make, stirring rice for a half hour straight. But it's pretty awesome when all of a sudden in all that stirring the rice becomes incredibly creamy. Risotto is a labor of love. The shiitake mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes make such a great combination. The dish is bursting with flavor and so rich. Give your wrist a work out and make more risotto.