Febe's Foods

Are you thinking about making an apple pie for Thanksgiving?  While gluten free dough is different in consistency than regular gluten dough, it doesn't have to be more difficult to work with.  Like anything else, once you know how to do it, it's easy.  As a result of my new gluten free cracker business, I have spent the last 3 years learning how to roll out gluten free dough.  I never had rolled out regular dough before, so I didn't have to learn to undo any habits.  But I did have to start from scratch.  Here are a few techniques that I have learned:

1. Wrap ball of gf dough in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes before attempting to roll it out.

2. Put a large piece of plastic wrap on your counter.

3. Sprinkle the plastic with gf flour.

4. Place gf dough ball on plastic wrap, and flatten it out with your hand.

5. Place another piece of plastic wrap on top of dough.

6. Roll evenly in all directions to desired thickness. Dough should roll with ease between the two pieces of plastic wrap. 

7. If dough is too fragile to maneuver into a pie dish, slide it onto a cookie sheet and stick in the freezer for another 15 minutes, or until it is firm enough to maneuver into the pie dish.

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With Thanksgiving on the horizon, celiacs often stress out because it is so difficult to eat at other people's homes.  Here are some quick tips:

Turkey is fine.  If you are worried about the seasonings on the skin, don't eat the skin.  Mashed potatoes are generally fine too (Maybe ask or even request if the cook used a new stick of butter).

Vegetables can be tricky if they are in a casserole.  If they are just steamed, have a field day.

Okay, stuffing is a problem and so are the desserts.  Here's what I do to resolve that problem.  The day before Thanksgiving make cornbread or cornbread muffins.  Muffins are generally more palatable to children.  Then use some of the cornbread to make a quick and easy stuffing.

Yummy Cornbread/muffin recipe

Ingredients: 1 c cornmeal, 1/2 cup rice flour, 1/2 c tapioca flour, 1/4 c potato starch, 2 tbl sugar or honey, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp xanthan gum, 1 tsp salt, 2 eggs, 1 c milk or sour cream, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/3 cup canola oil

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 8x4 inch or 3 inch round or square nonstick pan.

Combine dry ingredients. 

In another bowl, beat eggs, milk (or sour cream), oil.  Add mixture to dry ingredients. Mix till moist.  Batter will be like cake batter.

Bake 20 minutes for muffins, 25-30 minutes for loaf, until top is firm and edges are lightly browned.

Easy Cornbread Stuffing (Inspired by "Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing" recipe in Carol Fenster's Gluten-Free 101.

6 cups of corn bread, cubed; 1/2 onion, chopped; 1 stalk celery, chopped, 1/2 tsp celery seed; 1 tsp ground sage; 1/2 tsp dried oregano;1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper; 1 c gluten free chicken broth, 1 tbl olive oil.

Brown onion and celery in olive oil over medium.  Combine corn bread with remaining ingredients.  Stir well.  Pour into greased baking dish.  Bake 30 minutes at 350 until browned.

Posted by margie at 03:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1049) | TrackBacks (0)

Ever since I started my gluten free snack business, Febes Foods Inc., I have had a lot more patience for our home repair contractors.  Before I launched Febe's Foods, I would become frustrated with these contractors who didn't call back when they said they would, didn't finish on time, mistakenly ordered the wrong item, or failed to forsee a potential problem. 

Now that I am the only employee of Febe's Foods, I have found out how difficult it is to manage so many different aspects of the business.  Everyday, I, alone, am in charge of baking, inventory, finance, marketing, sales, delivery, packaging, graphic design, social media, and so much more.

Each day, I learn from my mistakes.  According to some store owners who sell my product, having one flavor is not ideal.  So after I am done baking, packagaing and delivering this week, I am going to work on creating new flavors.  Perhaps cinnamon, apple spice, or chocolate chip...  I'll keep you informed as to my results.  Hopefully, it won't take too long, and I will be able to come up with 1 or 2 more flavors of Star Bites by Thanksgiving.

Posted by margie at 03:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1225) | TrackBacks (0)

As you know or have heard, the gluten free diet is very difficult and expensive to follow.  I know first hand because my 7 year old, 40 lb, daughter who eats like a bird, has celiac.  Since she was diagnosed 5 years ago, our food bill has more than doubled! 

I am not complaining because within the first 5 months of her embarking on this diet, she gained 5 pounds and grew 5 inches.  This was after a year and half of no growth in height and a loss of a few ounces.  She has no more intestinal distress and is extremely well-adjusted.  To counteract any vitamin deficiences that the gluten free diet can cause, I give her a multi-vitamin and try to give her more food that is made from brown rice than white rice. 

But I know there is a contraversy out there about whether or not non-celiacs who may have a sensitivity to gluten should go on the diet.  If you truly have a sensitivity to gluten, and are not celiac, then try it out.  See if you feel better.  See if you can stand the constraints of being extremely limited in restaurants, on vacations, and at other people's homes.  See if you can afford it. See if all these difficulties are worth the improvment in physical well-being. If it works for you, then great.  Perhaps in the future, your stomach will calm down and you can try to add gluten back slowly. 

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When getting started on a gluten free diet, it is difficult to figure out what has gluten in it.  Unlike other allergens like peanuts which are readily labeled, gluten is often used in the processing of other ingredients, like soy sauce and seasonings.   Sometimes people do not physically improve right away because they are inadvertently consuming a product with gluten.

 Check out an article in examiner.com to see a list of products and ingredients where gluten is sometimes hidden.  This is not a complete list by any means, however.

Remember, always call the manufacturer for clarification.

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