Mushroom & Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto

Good evening.

I am well on my way to maintaining my vegan "way of eating".  I feel better, and I am very sure I can do this - giving up meat & dairy. 

I actually made this dish this past Tuesday, but I haven't had the time to blog about it until now.  I found a link for the recipe online:  http://www.food.com/recipe/mushroom-and-sun-dried-tomato-risotto-207099

It is another recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's (http://www.theppk.com/) book Vegan With A Vengeance.  You must buy this book, as well as all of her other books because they are awesome. 

I have made many risotto dishes before, and they are easy once you understand the process and why it takes patience for it to be perfect.  A risotto dish can be a complete meal for me, but, for others, it may only act as a side dish.  They may long for something else to accompany a risotto.  I think the fact that these dishes require so much attention, I don't bother making anything else with it. 

This one had mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes in it, so it was like the grain side dish with the vegetable side dish.  It all works out. 

Some of my changes:

*I used about 1/2 cup of dried shiitake mushrooms (re-hydrated in the broth) and 3 1/2 cups of cremini mushrooms.  I did that mainly because shiitakes cost more $$$, and eating healthier is already expensive as it is.  You try to save where you can.
*I left out the shallots because, as you know, I don't care for shallots or onions.  Like I said above, I have made many risotto dishes before, so I know how to adapt the recipe to account for the omission of this ingredient.
*I increased the garlic from 2 to 4 cloves.
*I used dried thyme (1 1/2 tsp) & dried rosemary (1 tsp) and crushed it in my hands before pouring it in.
*I didn't use the black truffle oil because I don't have any because it costs a lot of $$$.  It is a delicious ingredient, but I didn't want to shell out the $$$ for it. 

The picture below is the finished dish.  It looks soupy, but it wasn't like that at all.  The sauce is thick, and the dish is just beyond delicious.