Favorite Meat Alternatives

Beyond Meat's Italian sausage with mushroom and veggie pasta. Firelli pizza hot sauce looks on.
Beyond Meat’s Italian sausage with mushroom and veggie pasta.

New Year. Time for resolutions, setting goals, and maybe abstaining from… something. For some of you one of those things might be less meat, and more plant-based food. If you’re thinking about eating less meat in 2024, but feel the need for meat-like something on your plate, then read on.

I get it. So many of our meals revolve around meat. After all, it’s what goes in the middle of a sandwich. So finding something analogous to meat not only smooths the dietary transition, it can streamline the social aspect of meals with friends and family. Not to mention consuming less fat and zero cholesterol. But in recent years there has been a plethora of non-meat offerings popping up in your grocer’s freezer. Whether shopping for your next dinner party or just Meatless Monday lunch, it can be a little daunting.

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Scattering the Ashes

When my wife of 34 years passed away in October she had some very explicit instructions for me. One particular wish concerned her remains. Long ago we had both agreed we preferred to be cremated. But we’d never really discussed what to do with the ashes. Jackie was not interested in an urn or burial or any other type of internment.

One afternoon, just days before her demise, she told me, “Don’t put them all in one place.” Instead she wanted to be a part of places we loved to visit. Places her running group would often frequent. Special places.

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Make a Live Slideshow

Have you ever wanted to display a slideshow of photographs– but add new images on-the-fly?

There are at least a dozen ways to display a slideshow of photographs on a TV. Smart TVs or media players like a Roku can display images from a media card, connect to a cloud account or social media.

Google Chromecast with Remote
The latest version of the Chromecast includes a remote. But any version will work!

But what if you wanted that slideshow to include new photos added to the album after the slideshow has started? This would be useful during a wedding reception, product launch or retirement party. Partygoers are greeted by photos of your guest of honor as they arrive, then as the evening progresses they see new images of the actual event.

That gets a bit trickier.

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