August 2009 Archives - Strawberries are Gluten Free

IMPORTANT ***Top Dogs***

Top Dogs

UPDATED:

This is the letter I received from Maple Leaf foods:

September 1, 2009

Case #564030

Dear Mrs. Tibbles,

Thank you for your email. We appreciate your taking the time to contact us.

While Top Dogs were never a certified gluten-free product, Maple Leaf wanted to ensure that those most affected by this change were notified. As a result, we contacted The Canadian Celiac Association to communicate this change to them as this product may be referenced by members as a suitable choice.

Once again, thank you for contacting us. We will ensure that your feedback is passed along to our product development team.

Sincerely,

Roberto Vasco

Consumer Response Representative

Unfortunately I have bad news – the Top Dogs Original weiners that we are used to buying (in Canada) are no longer Gluten Free!! I had to do a double take, and then triple-take to make sure I was reading correctly – but right in there is now “wheat gluten”!! I have emailed the Maple Leaf office in Ontario, but no response so far. I’ll update this post if/when I hear from them.

By the way, last week (3rd week in August, 2009) when I was shopping, there were still Top Dogs Original Single Serving weiners which had the old recipe – gluten free. I’m not sure if that was older stock on the grocery shelves, or if the single serving weiners are going to have a different recipe from the 8-package ones.

Summary:

Top Dogs are NOT gluten-free!!

Showing-off Potato Salad

You know those times when you have to bring something along to a BBQ or Pot Luck? Well, M. Cook, you’re not the only one who all of the sudden becomes the gourmet chef. How could I possibly bring my 5-ingredient-wonder to a food fest, when my personal character is being judged on such? THIS is the real deal, my friends: It is waiting to be the show off of the table.

Have I mentioned that this baby also tastes divine?

I give you, The Showing-Off Potato Salad (I made that up – do you like it? )

Ingredients:

8 small sweet gherkins
6 potatoes, peeled, cubed, and boiled until just cooked
4 eggs, boiled and peeled
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 red onion
1 stalk celery

Dressing:

1.5 c mayonnaise (the real stuff, people, none of this ‘Salad Dressing’ nonsense)
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp cider vinegar
3 Tbsp gherkins pickle juice
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp celery seed
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Instructions:

1. Take an hour or two cutting that HUGE list of ingredients into tiny bits so it looks pretty. Or you could use one of those cool manual chopper thingy’s. (I’d totally be willing to review a chopper thingy. Just sayin’.)

2. Stir up the salad dressing.

3. Toss together (be sure to bring some cute little red bits to the surface so it looks oh-so-pretty)

NOTE: for the love of all things good – don’t smother it in paprika like your mama used to do!