I may be 15 years out of the UK, but there are still a few food things that tickle the Englishness in me... namely marmite, oatcakes and baked beans!

I confess that I would love to find an equally tasty version of marmite (or be able to make it myself) as the traditional stuff is now made by Unilever and is about the only food I buy from a big multinational... not something I am happy with, but I love it

;-)

Oatcakes... well that recipe can be another time.

Today I am going for the baked beans!

Baked beans and brown rice was a favourite dinner when I lived in England - something tasty, fast and nutritious - sometimes with some curry powder and sultanas added to the beans. But now when I look at the ingredients list of a tin of baked beans I am less tempted: added sugar, modified corn starch... is that necessary?

I decided yesterday to have a go and making my own, but to make them a bit different with lots of vegetables added in. I already had a big pan of tomato sauce cooking (onions, chopped tomatoes, bit honey). I do this every so often and then freeze portions for when I need a fast sauce. This certainly helped get the beans right.

So I started off my baked bean sauce with some leek and red and yellow pepper in a bit of olive oil...