http://www.meatlessmonday.com/why-meatless/
much like the British version, meat-free monday, this baltimore based group encourages folks to give up eating animals one day a week.
with some compelling stats, this link has a few good reasons to give up eating meat for at least one day a week, including the meat industry's high usage of fossil fuels and water.  reducing your meat intake by one seventh will reduce your personal contribution to that huge carbon footprint that is the meat industry.

http://www.mamasvegetarian.com/live/
There is a vegetarian fast food place in Philly that i haven't tried yet.
Someone tell me what is wrong with my life.
Also, anyone who has tried it, tell me the deal and if it is worth the trip...

I have another recipe on here that is for a seitan sloppy joe, and I made almost the same dish, but didn't chop everything as finely and it turned out completely different.
The sloppy joes recipe is very easy, and this stir fry is almost the same thing, but with large chunks of veggies and seitan and served over rice. 
You just start with about six cutlets of seitan and cube them about 1/2 inch in size.  Roughly dice a pepper and an onion and fry the veggies in a heavy pan.
Mix in the seitan cubes and barbecue sauce until it is all thoroughly mixed.  Let the mixture sit in the pan and burn a bit on the bottom of the pan.  Scrape it up into the rest as you mix so that you are incorporating the slightly burnt barbecue sauce into the flavor and texture of the overall meal.
Once you've heated this mixture sufficiently to your level of burnt-ness, serve it over cooked rice and top with some sweet-and-sour sauce.
You can try bringing some heat and using some finely chopped habanero pepper as well, if that's your style.

By ROBERT WIELAARD, Associated Press Writer
BRUSSELS (AP) — Paul McCartney took his "Meat-Free Mondays" campaign to the European Parliament on Thursday, saying the power to halt global warming lies as much with individuals as with their governments.

McCartney met in Brussels with Rajendra K. Pachauri, head of the U.N.'s global climate change panel, and praised the virtue of skipping meat one day a week for the sake of the environment.

"I grew up as a kid not eating meat on Fridays," McCartney told reporters. "It was part of the rules of the school I went to.

At a time of concerns over global warming, McCartney added, there are "even more crucial reason" to skip meat.

The former Beatle and well-known vegetarian said the production of food — from farm to fork — accounts for 20 to 30 percent of global green house gas emissions. Livestock production is responsible for around half of these emissions.

Still, he admitted that his flight from London to Brussels — and on to Berlin for a concert later Thursday — had contributed to global warming.

"They haven't invented microphones that work on candle power," he said. "I do everything I can. If I go for a car, I go for hybrid. I recycle."

Pachauri lauded McCartney's initiative, saying it "certainly makes the tasks of governments so much easier."

Earlier, Pachauri met with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who said even if the global climate conference opening in Copenhagen next week does not yield a final accord it must "light the pathway to a legal agreement" on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Barroso said he was heartened that "around 90" government leaders are coming to Copenhagen for the Dec. 7-18 U.N. climate meeting.

I know there is tons out there about the link between the meat industry and global warming/environmental decay, but this is a nice article about it.

Click here for Kathy Freston's article from Huffington Post

Possibly my favorite part of this was finding Martha Stewart's vegetarian thanksgiving episode.  Now if only my favorite, Ina Garten, would do a whole vegetarian episode, I'd be happier than anyone ever.
But check out Martha's full vegetarian thanksgiving episode.

Autumn is a great time for those classic comfort foods that we all grew up loving (at least on the East Coast of the US).
Classic beef stew was something most kids were served on a cold evening after raking leaves all afternoon.
Most vegetarians I know spend a lot of time trying to find non-meat versions of classic dishes, many of which are every bit as delicious as the original meal, but without the cruelty and usually healthier.
Replacing the beef with a cubed seitan (either buy some at the store, or try making this one in advance) is a great way to make this as hearty as any stew out there.
You can do this on the stove on low heat, but I prefer to use a crock pot and cook it slowly.  This mingles the flavors better and is easier to dump everything in and walk away for a few hours.
Start by skinning chopping up the potatoes, yam and turnip, rough 1x1 inch cubes will do great.  I like to boil these for a few minutes just for good measure, but you can skip that step if you're doing the slow cook method. 
Dice the onion and pepper.  Slice the carrots and celery.
Cube the seitan and don't try to drain all the liquid as you go, this helps add flavor to the stew.
Mix all of these ingredients in the crock pot or a large stock pot on the stove on low heat. 
Stir the gravy packets into the water and pour in over the mixture of veggies.  Add whatever spices you find interesting, I listed an easy group in the ingredients here, but there is not any standard set if you look at other stew recipes, get creative.
The gravy will thicken while it cooks, so don't worry that it looks watery just now. 
Let it cook on low for about 45 minutes on the stove, or for however much time you have in the crock pot.  A long, slow cooking time will really blend the flavors well and make it hearty.  If you're short on time, put the crock pot on high for 20 minutes, then reduce to low for another 20 and you should be good to go. 
This also re-heats very well.
Serve it with a thick, crusty bread for dipping and some hot apple cider. 

Ingredients:
4-6 cutlets of seitan
2 potatoes
1 sweet potato or yam
1 turnip
1 onion
1 pepper
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
2 packets of vegetarian brown gravy mix
2-3 cups of water
Seasonings to taste:
salt
pepper
garlic
paprika
crushed red pepper

Horizon's in Philadelphia makes what might be one of the best appetizers ever, vegan or not.
They have a Jamaican barbecued seitan that is unreal.
Their secret is the seitan.
Ray's Wheat Meat is made by an Allentown, PA company and is available in Whole Foods and other retail outlets in the region that are veg-friendly.
I tried to approximate the joy I found at Horizon's, but for far less money.
A container of Ray's runs about 4 bucks at Whole Foods, and I'll be experimenting with other sauces, but my first attempt was with a bottle of whatever-was-on-sale barbecue sauce. 
Lightly coat a frying pan with some olive oil on a medium-high heat.
Break the seitan into rough pieces about bite sized and heat them up until they are hot all the way through.  This should only take a couple of minutes.
Coat each one with the sauce and sear them on each side. 
Serve them hot and enjoy.
The sauce at Horizon's is better.  The smoked chipotle dip they serve with it is unbeatable.  But this low end version of the Horizon's classic is easy and satisfying.