Peanut Butter Barley Casserole

This recipe has been adapted from Alicia's Silverstone's Barley Casserole in The Kind Diet. If you haven't read that book, I highly reccomend it! She has such a peaceful approach to veganism. She's one of my heroes! My version features less organic ingredients, and not as much tahini. (Tahini is a fabulous source of calcium, but also quite high in fat, which is something I try to avoid. With the peanut butter, I found I could reduce the amount of fat...and with almond milk, I'm still getting calcium. Adding kale would be a great calcium-boosting idea!)

3 cups barley
6 cups water
2 medium onions
4 medium carrots
1/2 - 1 cup frozen peas
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 cup "milk" (my favourite is almond, but you can use soy or rice, just avoid the flavoured ones)
1/2 cup soy sauce

Cook barley in water until soft (about 40 minutes). Saute onions in 1 Tbsp oil. Dice carrots to about 1 cm; add to onions. Cook until just cooked (still crunchy, YUM!). Add frozen (or fresh, if in season) peas. Add all vegetables to barley once water it fully absorbed. Melt peanut butter in sauce pan. Slowly whisk in "milk." Once all of the milk has been added and the mixture is once again smooth, add soy sauce. Once smooth, again, pour over barley and mix well. You can serve this as is, or - to allow the flavours to soak in even more - cook at 350F for about thirty minutes. Enjoy!!!