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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Lighter Than Air

I’ve always been fascinated with dirigibles. This week, watching the Goodyear blimp floating above Tulsa covering the PGA, reminded me of the day I got a ride on the iconic airship.

My memory is fuzzy on the exact year, but it was early Seventies, so I was 10 or 12 years old. Dad, like a lot of Tulsa dads, worked for American Airlines. In the Seventies he was an inspector in the Gear & Brake Shop, which dealt with a lot of Goodyear products. As I understood it, the Goodyear rep offered him two tickets to ride the blimp during it’s upcoming visit to Tulsa.

The Columbia was a true blimp, unlike the current generation of Goodyear airships.
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