bean me up, scotty!

homebaked beans

i am by no means vegan (or vego for that matter), but as a lover of food and a respectable being of the human race and our very crazy planet, i am an advocate for the occasional vegan dish, hence my month of vegan treats!! we should try and incorporate a vegan meal in our weekly diet if we really cared about the future of our existence. we all know that the meat industry causes huge fresh water depletion. we all know that a vegan diet helps reduce our carbon footprint. we all know that meat consumers are promoting the over-breeding of animals (anyone for hormones?). we all know that the animals we eat had a shit life. we all know that animals providing so called "organic meat" probably had a shit life also. we all know that going vegan pays respect to the ocean's ecosystems and rainforest ecosystems. we all know that cooking vegan dishes are a good challenge to create. am i assuming all this knowledge?


Homebaked Beans
Serves 4

3 x 400g tin beans (I like to use 2 x canellini beans, 1 x four bean mix)
200g tin tomatoes or 1 punnet cherry tomatoes when in season
8 french shallots, peeled and halved
1 small clove of garlic finely grated
6 sprigs of thyme
2 bayleaves
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tspn smoked paprika
1/2 tspn cumin
1 tspn tomato paste
1 tblspn barbeque sauce
5 pinches of salt
4 pinches of sugar
3 pinches of black pepper

5 tblspn olive oil

Preheat oven to 220 degC.

1. Rinse beans and place in an ovenproof dish.

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

3. Cover the dish with foil and place in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. Seaon to taste.