Barley Stew - 4 syns per serving

A filling but tasty barley based stew. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
150g pearl barley
700ml vegetable stock
Frylight (Oil)
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp rosemary
75g button mushrooms,  halved
1 large carrot, chopped
400g cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
400g can chopped tomatoes
60g spinach

For the dumplings:
70g Aunt Bessie's hearty dumpling mix
1 tbsp rosemary
Salt and pepper

Method:
Put barley and stock in a pan and bring to the boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile put the dumpling mix, rosemary and 2 tbsp cold water in a bowl.  Season and mix into a soft dough adding more water if needed.  Divide into 8 balls and set aside. In another pan fry the garlic and onion until tender, add the mushrooms and rosemary and cook for a further 5 minutes.  In a casserole dish mix the fried onion and mushrooms,  barley, stock and the rest of the ingredients.  Place the dumplings on top. Place the lid on. Place in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 5 for half an hour, then serve.

Cheese and Potato Scones - Half a Syn Each

Obviously the original recipe asked for flour and full fat Cheddar rather than cottage cheese but my recipe is low fat, contains no flour and is still very tasty.

Scones:
3 eggs
1 packet of instant mash
1 300g tub of non fat cottage cheese
1 clove of garlic chopped fine
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp parsley
3 spring onions

Top with:
40g reduced fat Cheddar

Method:
Mix the scone ingredients together in a bowl. Roll the mixture out as thick as required as these scones don't rise. Use a cutter to cut scone shapes. Place on a greased baking tray and top with the reduced fat Cheddar.  Place in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 4 for about 20 minutes or until they brown slightly.
Goes well with a little chilli jam and a lovely big salad. 

Anzac Biscuits -The full fat recipe

These biscuits were originally made to send to the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) serving in Gallipoli during WW1.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_biscuit

Ingredients:

1 cup porridge oats
3/4 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup
2 tablespoons boiling water

Method:

Mix oats, flour, sugar and coconut together. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the syrup and butter together. Mix the soda and the boiling water and add to the melted butter and syrup. Add butter mixture to the dry ingredients. Drop by teaspoons on greased baking tray. Bake at gas mark 4 for 18 to 20 minutes.

Very high in Syns I should think.  I am making them for a party rather than eating them myself!

Leek and Potato Stew - 0 Syns - Serves 2

Ingredients: 

(Items in brackets were the original WW2 ingredients.) My version is low fat and Syn free.

Fry light (or 1 tsp lard)

2 Leeks

2 Potatoes

2 large carrots

3/4 pint Beef stock

1 tsp marmite

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or malt vinegar)

1 cup of peas

8 cherry tomatoes

Instant mash (or corn flour)

Method:
First fry leeks and potato in a pan in a little fry light. When browned add beef stock, marmite,  vinegar and mustard powder. Add peas and cherry tomatoes.  Let simmer until the potatoes are soft. Thicken with a little corn flour or instant mash.

Cheese Cake - 1/2 a Syn per slice

Not strictly wartime but a rather nice low fat, no sugar dessert!

This made 2 whole cakes for me! 8 slices each cake. Just over half a syn each slice. Half the ingredients to make just one cake.

For the crust:
3 tbsp extra light margerine melted
Enough water to moisten the:
5 scan bran
1 tsp sweetner

For the cheesecake filling:
3 x 300g pack Quark cheese
83g sweetner
3 tbsp instant mash
1½ tsp vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (about 2 tsp)
1½ tsp lemon juice
3 large eggs seperated, plus 1 yolk
284ml carton non fat yogurt.

For the topping:
142ml carton non fat yogurt
1 tsp sweetner
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest.

Position an oven shelf in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to fan gas mark 4. For the crust, melt the margarine in a  pan. Put the scan bran in a bowl and put enough water in to moisten them. Add the melted marge. Stir in the sweetner. Make sure the mixture is evenly moistened. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake for 15 minutes. Still in the tin, cool on a wire rack while preparing the filling.For the filling, increase the oven temperature to gas mark 9. In a table top mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the quark cheese at medium-low speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low, gradually add the sweetner then the instant mash and a pinch of salt. Swap the mix into a bowl and whisk. Continue by adding the vanilla, lemon zest and juice. Whisk in the yolks, one at a time, scraping the bowl and whisk at least twice. Stir the 284ml carton of yogurt until smooth,  Whisk to blend, but don't over-beat.  In a seperate bowl beat the egg whites until it forms stiff peaks. Fold the egg white into the mixture.  The batter should be smooth, light and somewhat airy. Spray the sides of the tin with fry light. Pour in the filling - the top should be as smooth as possible. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to gas mark 1 and bake for 30 minutes more. If you gently shake the tin, the filling should have a slight wobble. Turn off the oven and open the oven door for a cheesecake that's creamy in the centre, or leave it closed if you prefer a drier texture. Let cool in the oven for 2 hours. The cheesecake may get a slight crack on top as it cools.Combine the reserved  142ml of yogurt, the sweetner and lemon juice for the topping. Spread over the cheesecake right to the edges. Sprinkle with a little grated lemon zest. Cover loosely with foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.Run a round-bladed knife around the sides of the tin to loosen any stuck edges. Unlock the side, slide the cheesecake off the bottom of the tin onto a plate.