My girlfriends and I have begun a tradition of having a dinner party every Wednesday evening. It’s a pleasant way to aid coping with the work week and is also fun to scheme, cook and consume. This week, we used a Real Simple Edamame, Lemon and Tarragon Risotto recipe, but decided to turn up the volume a bit. Like many foodies, risotto tends to have an autumnal/ winter ring, however, with the right mix of vegetables, this dish lends itself well to spring. In addition, the recipe called for vegetable stock, as opposed to the slightly heavier alternative of chicken broth, which added a lighter texture to the dish. Being vegetable freaks, we decided to incorporate additional vegetables and chose crisp asparagus and sweet potatoes. We simply par-steamed the asparagus to ensure a bit of crunchiness and cooked sweet potato until soft, and then diced into bits. I found this dish to be delicious. I liked how the lemon gave the dish a nice spring and the tarragon added a fennel-like spice to the dish. The vegetables were a perfect medley and became the main attraction as opposed to sticky, cheesy rice (although that sounds good too).