Lemon risotto.

My bff and I made risotto last night, which mostly consisted of her doing the chopping and stirring and me drinking wine and eating crackers - a perfect night.  Also, not that healthy of a meal considering all the cheese I added.  Whatever.

Lemony Risotto with Asparagus
3 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 tablespoons butter {I used Earth Balance vegan "butter"}
1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
1/3 of a small block of Fontina cheese, shredded
Lemon zest
Pinch of salt or two
Pinch of pepper

1) Start by simmering the broth and water in a pot.  Once simmering, cook the asparagus for 4 minutes.  Fish the asparagus out of your pot and set aside.  Leave the broth + water mixture simmering.

2) Saute the chopped onion in 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet until soft, or about 5 minutes.  Add the rice and stir constantly for 1 minute.  Add the wine and simmer until absorbed, again with lots of stirring.

3) Stir in 1/2 cup of your broth mixture at one, stirring frequently.  Don't add more broth until your previous add has been absorbed.

4) Once all the broth is absorbed into the rice, stir in your asparagus, lemon zest, and cheese.  I went a little crazy adding the lemon zest and cheese here, but it was good.  Add cracked pepper before serving.

*The major modifications I made to this was switching from chicken to vegetable broth {for my vegetarian friend}, using vegan butter, and using Fontina instead of parmesean cheese.  Also, note that this recipe claims it only takes 18 minutes for the broth to be absorbed into the rice.  Lies - it took over an hour.  Have crackers on hand.  Perhaps my oven wasn't on a high enough "simmer"... still delicious.

{Adapted from allrecipes}