Carrot-Mushroom-Barley Stew

I love making stews and soups in winter -- almost as much as my husband enjoys eating them. Last night, I wanted to try a recipe I found in my FoodNetwork magazine and I have to say it came out pretty, pretty, pretty delicious. The only difficult part about making this recipe was the fact that I couldn't find carrot juice anywhere and, on my fourth try, ended up going to the Whole Foods juice bar.

Does anyone know what would make for a good carrot juice substitute?

• Ingredients:
• 2 cups carrot juice
• 10 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and reserved, caps sliced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup instant barley (* emphases on instant - Barley has a hard shell and it takes a while to break down)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery with leaves, finely diced
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 cups kale or mustard greens, stems removed and leaves torn
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger (because I love the taste of ginger and felt this wasn't enough, I also added a couple
• shakes of ginger powder)

Prepping all the ingredients took a little while!

Bring the carrot juice, 3 cups water and the mushroom stems to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a pot over medium-high heat.

Add the mushroom caps and barley and cook until the barley is toasted, about 5 minutes.

Add the onion, celery and rosemary to the pot and season with salt and pepper. (I left out the Rosemary because my husband is quite allergic). Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots and cook 2 more minutes. Increase the heat to high and add half of the carrot juice mixture, leaving the mushroom stems in the pan. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is almost absorbed, about 6 minutes.

Add the remaining carrot juice mixture, the kale and ginger and cook, stirring, until the barley and vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, then ladle the stew into bowls. (I skipped the extra butter at the end and added some chicken stock instead because, honestly, who needs clogged arteries?)