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I don't know why I still like Anthony Bourdain as much as I do - he disparages Mets fans and vegetarians, which is a double blow to me. Maybe it's the part of me that likes the jerky bad boy. ;)

I was raised vegetarian by my South Indian parents (most South Indians from the state of Tamil Nadu are vegetarians). They were raised vegetarian and since that's all my mom knew, that's how my brother and I were raised. We grew up in NY right outside of NYC, so even when we ate out, we had a good amount of options - we ate a lot of Mexican and Italian, and later, Thai - so we never felt like we had to resort to eating meat. For me, vegetarian food isn't about cutting out meat, it's about adding different spices to foods to make them interesting and amazing. And there is nothing like really good fresh produce - it can stand up on its own very well.

If you're looking for vegetarian recipes, there are a lot of blogs out there devoted to the subject - including mine! raspberry eggplant

I've been called a "selective vegetarians". I love vegetarian foods and dishes, but I also love meat. It really depends on my mood.

I'm pescetarian, really, but I cook mostly vegetarian meals. The good stuff goes on my blog:

http://www.threepotato.blogspot.com

I found giving up meat easy. Look to traditional East Asian and Indian cuisine - many traditional recipes use meat as a condiment, if they use it at all. I'm reading Eat to Live right now, and Dr. Fuhrman says that omnivores can be very healthy if they eat huge proportions of fruits and vegetables along with their meat. Instead of a sixteen ounce steak, cook a small amount of meat as part of a flavorful vegetable-based dish, like a stir fry or curry. I currently do this with cheese. A tablespoon of cheese imparts a lot of flavor, especially if you sprinkle it on top of your grain salad, etc.. I would imagine that you don't need tons of beef or pork to flavor a dish, and as you get more comfortable, you can start making more vegetarian meals.

I'm a vegetarian, and often an accidental vegan, since lactose intolerance tends to make me eat dairy-free. One of my favorite recipes is a variation on the Moosewood Cookbook's recipe for black bean and sweet potato burritos. I like to make them tacos instead, and skip the pureeing step, instead leaving hunks of melting, caramelized roasted sweet potato mixed in with hearty black beans in charred tortillas.

Yum.

I've been vegetarian for ten years and write recipes on my blog www.figswithbri.com
One of my favorite recipes I developed this year is an acorn squash and sage mac 'n' cheese.
http://figswithbri.com/?p=90
It's a take-off on pumpkin ravioli in sage butter sauce. Since I use some cottage cheese, there is more protein, and it's absolutely divine.
I make lentil dishes a lot as well. Red lentils cook up in 20 minutes, so with some quinoa or basmati rice, you have a filling delicious meal in about 1/2 hour. This is a lentil soup recipe I made last fall:
http://figswithbri.com/?p=36
It's really quite easy to incorporate more vegetable matter into your diet these days, especially with farmers markets.

I don't mind Anthony Bourdain's comments since it's really not personal. I made a choice and don't push it on anyone else, but I do understand why people don't want to give up meat.

I was vegetarian for 15 years until I started to watch Bourdain's "A Cook's Tour." I totally fell under his pro-meat spell. For about the last two years I have been eating meat, wondering if maybe I would feel healthier and have more energy. The answers to that are no and no; if anything, I gained weight! And the recent beef recall totally reminded me of why I became vegetarian in the first place, which is why I am no longer eating meat except for these three exceptions: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Europe (I will continue to eat fish, however). Seems like a good balance to me. Perhaps this doesn't make me a true vegetarian, but that's how I identify myself.

I love this recipe for Pumpkin Polenta. Just use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and substitute the chorizo for the veggie sausage of your choice, or tofu.