Barley baby

I'm discovering the joys of barley as a rice substitute. It's substantial, readily available, flavorful, and cooks in 10 minutes. Last night I made barley paella, and it was good despite the lack of garlic.

You take:

1 can veggie broth (I used one 1-pint jar of my homemade veggie broth)
a jar of roasted red peppers
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen baby limas
1 carrot, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
a large pinch of turmeric (roughly 1/4 teaspoon)
a good amount paprika (1/2 teaspoon?)
salt and pepper to taste

Dump it all into a saucepan, bring to a boil, add 1 cup quick-cooking barley, cover and simmer 10 minutes, and eat! Those without garlic allergies can saute a couple cloves in oil before adding everything else. If you're doing that, might as well soften your carrot and peppers at the same time.

I haven't tried other grains as a rice stand-in, in part because Jax turned out to like barley quite a lot. At first it reminded my spouse of the smell of beer, but aside from that it's been a nice find on my part.