Summer appears to be racing by at a dizzying pace, wildly spinning the wheel of weather as she goes. From sultry heatwaves to spectacular storms, August has given us plenty of gloriously sunny days too. It’s 
always a busy month for us, celebrating birthdays in the first few days & our anniversary later in the month (there’s much cake to be baked & eaten!). Breakfasts, lazy lunches, pasta & Prosecco have all been enjoyed on the patio, while the plants have been abundant with their produce & easily picked for dinner.
The last few months, I’ve been sharing the home office with Mr Hungry (his upstairs, mine down) & it’s been a change most households have seen this year. There are some downsides (other people can hear & see you on live calls), but there are plenty of ups too! Not so long ago, we would meet for lunch in town to share a 
coffee & a few kisses, before wandering back to work. This brief interlude would put a pep in my step & make the afternoon brighter – we have now have resumed our mid-day meet-ups. Even though we are all in much closer proximity at the moment, it doesn’t mean we should become territorial about sharing space with our loved ones.
Shopping has recently become a bit like a treasure hunt, heightening our resourcefulness & making us more aware of our limited pantry. This is nothing new to some of us, especially those on a limited budget or diet. Being frugal can be a blessing, especially in the taste department. Think of it as one of those old TV shows, where you were given a bag of ingredients & had to make a delicious dish. It’s a challenge, but you’re up to it!
One of my favourite frugal recipes is based on an old minestrone soup. Hearty, healthy & heaped with lots of little ingredients that don’t cost much. We call this the Coupler Soup, because you need a 
couple of this & a couple of that. We’ve all bought a tin of this, a packet of that, hoping to use it in some elaborate & exquisite dish, but shoving it to the back of the cupboard. Bits of leftover dried pasta, a random tin of beans & that twisted up tube of tomato puree with a tiny bit left. All seemed a bit pointless when you popped them in there, but now they are like gold dust! You might notice I’ve used spinach instead of Cavolo Nero or cabbage. This is simply because I like spinach on my pizza & there’s always a bit leftover, just enough to chuck in a soup or whizz into a delicious pesto, as you will know if you’ve been following my blog. Over the years, I’ve adjusted the recipe to accommodate whatever ingredients were available, but it always has the same result – soupy satisfaction!
One of the main ingredients for this recipe is fresh chicken stock & here’s the link to my stock recipe: https://hopeyourehungry.co.uk/a-bird-in-the-hand-is-worth-ten-in-a-dish/ . I dilute it for this recipe, with a little water to wash out the tomato tin. If you prefer to use a stock cube, make enough according to the instructions on the pack. Ready to take the plunge? Hands washed, aprons on & here we go!
What you need:
2 pints of fresh Chicken Stock, well-strained if homemade
4 rashers Bacon (I used streaky smoked or whatever is in the freezer)
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
2 medium Carrots, washed & finely chopped
2 sticks Celery, washed & finely chopped
2 dried Bay Leaves
1 tin White Beans, drained (such as Cannellini or Haricot beans, whatever you have available)
1 tin Italian Plum Tomatoes (save the tin for measuring your pasta)
2 handfuls of Dried Pasta (see above)
2 handfuls of fresh Spinach, washed & chopped chunky, stems & all
1 tablespoon Tomato Puree
1 sprig fresh Rosemary – remove leaves & chop finely (keep the stalk)
2 cloves fresh Garlic, chopped finely
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Freshly ground Black Pepper
What to do:
Prepare your ingredients first – wash, peel & chop finely as above. Set them aside, ready to start. Keep the Rosemary stalk & dry it – they make fabulous skewers for mini kebabs (slide whole cherry tomatoes & bocconcini on, then bake for 5 minutes in a hot oven – delicious!).
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a deep saucepan (you will need the lid for later) & using some good kitchen scissors, finely snip the smoked bacon into the pan. Let it sizzle for a couple of moments, allowing it to render it’s fat (this adds essential flavour & in all honesty, it’s a miniscule amount).
Add the onion, carrot & celery to the pan, mixing well with the bacon & oil. Give everything a good stir & fry for about 4-5 minutes, until slightly softened & the onion become glossy.
Tip in the garlic & Rosemary into the vegetables & then add the beans. Add the chicken stock & bay leaves, stirring everything gently together.
Pour the plum tomatoes into your hand over the pan, squishing them carefully into the liquid (you can always tip them into a bowl & do this beforehand, if you prefer).
Fill the tin with cold water, swish it around to get the last drops of tomato juice & pour into the pan.
Using the empty tin, fill it with dried pasta pieces – whatever you’ve got in the cupboard is fine. This recipe is to make the most of those leftover bits you’ve been saving for a rainy day – well it’s chucking it down now! Carefully, without splashing yourself, sprinkle them into the soupy liquid.
Add the tomato puree, tip the chopped spinach into the pan & get stirring, mixing everything together.
Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer & put the lid half on the pan. Let it bubble away softly for about 15-20 minutes, giving it a swirl around with the spoon occasionally.
Using a clean spoon, have a taste of your soup & adjust the seasoning to your personal taste (get a clean spoon before tasting again). It’s worth noting that any stock (homemade or shop-bought), along with bacon, contain salt, so you shouldn’t need to add much. When you’re happy with the flavour, turn off the heat & tuck in!
Scoop your soup generously into bowls, making sure you get to the bottom of the pan! Add some well-buttered, crusty bread for dunking & indulge in some soupy comfort food. Ladle any leftovers into tubs or pots when cooled, pop them into the fridge & save for another day (it should keep in there for a couple of days at least). I’ve used jam jars to stash soup in the fridge, just put an upturned cupcake case on the jar before putting on the lid (it gives it a bit of a better seal).
Although an everyday soup, it can also be turned into a souptacular starter. Got a bit of day old bread that needs using up? Make your own croutons! Cut into cubes (as chunky or dainty as you like), drizzle with a little olive oil & bake on a tray in the oven at 220*C for about 10-15 minutes (give them a shake halfway through cooking). Once bronzed & crisp, tip them onto a sheet of greaseproof paper on a cooling rack, before transferring to a serving plate for people to help themselves. Pile a few in the centre of your soup, swirl with a little olive oil & a dusting of grated Parmesan. That’s it!
Whether a romantic lunch or a suppertime starter, try my Coupler Soup to use up those random ingredients & create a hearty, wholesome soup! Stay hungry! Aimee 😉 x
Gazing into the garden while sipping my first coffee of the day, there is an Autumnal air about it. The early sunshine is just peaking over the rooftops, causing the dew laden lawn to shimmer in the sunlight & perfectly summing up the Summer.
inbetween. The poor plants don’t seem to know which way to turn & our multi-tasking willow tree has been happily soaking up the excess water, whilst providing welcome cool shade to the local wildlife. There are baby olives on our little olive tree trying to ripen, green tomatoes just starting to blush red & a bounty of blackberries waiting patiently to be plucked. The garden seems to be clinging on by it’s very leaf-tips to the last days of Summer, as Autumn has quietly arrived & begun to unpack her colourful attire across the landscape.
us, just waiting to be turned into tasty transitional treats. Some of my best ideas come from mooching around the markets, shopping when everyone else is sat in traffic (or still in bed), & picking up some fabulous bargains. The early bird always catches her worm & although thankfully not very worm-like, earthy foods have caught my eye recently – the beautiful but humble mushroom.
amazing! From the tiny to the tawny, closed cup or open, the frilly or the flat, these fabulous funghi are just waiting to be turned into delicious dishes!
stems work well), along with any mushroom stems, parsnip, bean or pea trimmings – wash everything well to remove grit & dirt, then chuck them all in a roasting tin with 2-3 pints of cold water, a splash of olive oil & a few good grinds of black pepper & sea salt. Cover it with foil to seal in all the juices & bake at 200*C for just over an hour, then strain & that’s it. Use it fresh, stick it in the fridge for a couple of days or freeze it. Save the veggies to whizz up into soups or sauces & pour any leftovers into jars for the fridge or ice cube trays to freeze.
Next, although I have used two types of pastry (shortcrust for the base & puff for the lid), you could use shortcrust all over or just use shop-bought puff lids if time is limited – please make sure it’s proper all-butter puff to do your pie proud. If you do fancy having a go at making your own, here’s the link to my puff pastry recipe: 
Sprinkle in the plain flour around the pan & stir fry everything together until the flour has disappeared. This is going to make a roux in the pan, as it will absorb the butter & oil in the mixture, thickening everything up nicely.
Tip the mushroom pie filling into the pastry lined tin & spread out well. Dip your finger in a cup of cold water & run it around the edge of the pastry.
Put the pie tin on a cooling rack for a few moments to relax before serving. That’s it! Just get everyone around the table & dig in! Meaty but meatless, this mushroom-packed pastry goes well with either a generous scoop of cheesy mashed potatoes & steamed crisp vegetables, or a zesty green salad scattered with a few spots of aged Balsamic vinegar & toasted pine nuts. Slice it up cold for a luscious leftover lunch or freeze in slices for indulgent lazy suppers after a long day at work.
substantial supper is required to hit the spot. Pasta is probably the most loved food in our house (well, apart from cake obviously). We indulge in this versatile staple several times a week (that’s not including leftover lunches). If I’m not making it, I’m thinking about making it & what I can put in it or on it. I’ve even got a dedicated pasta shelf in the pantry! We don’t live in a vast mansion (it’s more like a doll’s house), so a few years ago we put the cupboard space under the stairs to better use than a home for the hoover! It’s now fully stacked & packed with all our staples – pasta, tins & jars of various sweet & savoury delights to whip up a wonderful plateful at a moment’s notice. Obviously, that’s where all my sugar paste lives, because it’s cool & out of the way (the marzipan lives here too, but don’t tell my Husband or I’ll have none left!).
adjusted the recipe & used a variety of different pasta (spaghetti is still the best), but I had forgotten just how beautiful the original recipe is. It also made me realise how much of an impact my cooking has had on our Son & his approach to food. It’s kind of big when you think that the simplest of things, like preparing food for our children, is something they carry with them into adulthood. Obviously, as soon as I put the phone down, I headed off to the kitchen to make a pile of pasta!
– what’s not to love?! It’s great for using up vegetables in your fridge that are starting to look a bit tired & all those little leftover bags of pasta in the pantry that everyone has. If you don’t like bacon, you could leave it out altogether & maybe add courgette slices, or swap it for thin strips of chicken instead – it’s your choice. This is one of those great last minute dishes too, so if you suddenly have a houseful you can feed everyone easily (I get 4 huge portions out of this). Hungry? Hands washed & aprons on!
Firstly, we need to toast the pine nuts, so gently heat up a large skillet or frying pan & add the nuts to the dry pan. On a low heat, keep moving the pine nuts around the pan so they don’t burn.
Add your pasta to the water, stir with a wooden spoon & cook according to the instructions (usually dried shapes take about 10 minutes max, giving us time to cook everything else).
That’s it! Dinner’s ready to dish up – a huge skillet full of crispy, smoked bacon pieces with gorgeously glossy, jewel-like vegetables & vibrant emerald-green spinach leaves. Generous chunks of Gorgonzola melt into the warm swirls of pasta, giving it an oozy smoothness that attracts all the other ingredients together, followed by a substantial showering of the toasted pine nuts, adding an almost popcorn-like flavour to everything.
couple of twists of freshly ground black pepper (maybe a dusting of Grana Padana too). On sultry Summer evenings, this goes well with a couple of glasses of good wine & maybe some fresh, warm slices of baguette to scoop up any gooey, cheesy remnants that attempt to escape – in Italy, this is known as “fare la scarpetta”, which means to “make the little shoe” with the bread to mop up any sauce (now that’s a shoe I do love!)
also the time of year my Husband & I met, so we always celebrate our first date (it involved a large Harley Davidson Sportster, a couple of hundred bikers delivering Christmas presents & rather a lot of tinsel!). 
Christmas Day. Some of these multi-tasking munchies can even be used as a starter, so make a few extra (which is my mantra, as you probably know by now). One of my favourites (& apparently everyone else’s!) are baked cheesy biscuits – you can serve them simply on their own or with a dip, or even pipe some cream cheese on them & decorate with chopped chives. They are really easy to make & the recipe is in my blog called “Grate Expectations” – here’s the link for speed: 
Scoop spoonfuls of the breadcrumb mixture into each mushroom – be generous & keep going until every mushroom is crammed full, then sprinkle with a little more cheese. Any leftover breadcrumb mixture, chuck it in the fridge for later (someone always turns up late or you might fancy a midnight snack). Scatter a few pine nuts over the top (these are gorgeous & have a sort of popcorn taste to them).
If you’re preparing them in advance, cover in cling film now & pop them in the fridge until you need them (they keep until the next day at least). Otherwise, bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden & gorgeous. These are great hot or cold, either on their own or with dips, or just with a green salad as a starter.
prepped by one of your Helpers a few days before, then stashed in the fridge in airtight containers or bags, ready to be whipped out with a delicious dip anytime! If you fancy something different, try raw crunchy cauliflower florets (one of my faves), sliced peppers, sugarsnap peas & mangetout. Give them a good wash, trim the ends & stand them in a cup. One thing I don’t do at this time of year is make dips – I really cannot be bothered & what with all the other stuff to do, just buy some nice ones & store them in the fridge until needed. Simply scoop them into individual tea cups with saucers & dinky spoons (saving your table from splodges), rather than leaving them in a plastic tray – even if they do have one of those optimistic re-sealable tops, dips always disappear first!
Measure your spices into a cup & carefully mix together. (Sometimes, I only use half this mixture & sprinkle the rest over chunky raw potato slices, drizzled in olive oil, to make spicy wedges in the oven – bake at 220*C for 25 minutes & serve with a cooling dip, like Greek yoghurt mixed with a few chopped mint leaves).
Take a couple of pieces of chicken, coat them in the egg & shake off the excess. Chuck them in the breadcrumb mixture & pat this onto the chicken to ensure it’s coated well. Place them into the roasting tin & repeat until you have coated all the chicken. Drizzle more olive oil over the top (drizzle, not drown).
Spread them on a huge plate for people to help themselves – turn it into a starter with a salad, a couple of potato wedges & a yoghurt & mint dip, or leave them to cool before freezing them in a bag until needed. Job done!