Southwestern Barley "Grits"

Barley takes the place of corn here, which is the traditional base for grits. A bowlful of this savory cereal would be delicious at lunch time - or even for breakfast to take the chill off a winter morning!

Place 1/3 cup uncooked pearled barley in a blender and process until coarsely ground. Transfer to a large saucepan. Repeat with batches of barley until you've used 1 and 1/4 cups total (yes, I know the math on that doesn't quite work out, so I guess the original recipe was just approximating!)

Note: as with when I made Fruited Breakfast Barley about a week ago, I found that my barley didn't so much grind as "crack", but that it still worked out okay in the recipe; the purpose of grinding/cracking the barley this way is that it cuts down on cooking time. So don't fret if you still see fairly whole pieces of pearled barley, too.

Cook the barley over medium heat for 4 minutes, to toast it. Add 3 cups water, 3 cups plain soy milk (such as Silk), 1 tablespoon agave nectar (in place of honey) and 1/2 tsp. salt to the saucepan; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring frequently - you'll definitely want to attend to the stirring, because otherwise a skin will form on the top of the soy milk.

Stir in 1 cup shredded vegan cheddar (such as Galaxy Foods), 1 teaspoon chili powder, and 1 (4-ounce) drained can of chopped green chiles. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

This recipe makes a big batch to feed a crowd! Ladle 1 cup of cereal into each of 6 bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon vegan sour cream (such as Tofutti's Better Than Sour Cream). You could even drizzle on hot sauce if you like, for an added kick, although I skipped that suggestion. Each bowlful is 320 calories.

Cost:
plain soy milk $2.49
vegan cheddar $3.39
canned chopped green chiles $2.19