Monday

Chinese longevity noodles (recipe in the comments)
Chicken shu-mei (TJ's was out of our preferred edamame variety)

Hot tea
Oranges
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So, I saw this recipe on the Whole Foods website and was inspired to try it because of Elmo. Yes, Elmo. T doesn't watch a lot of TV, but we have recently started getting some Elmo's World DVDs from our library and he LOVES them. While I don't really consider myself a big proponent of TV for little kids, I'm amazed at how much fun he and I have watching Elmo together and also at how much he's learned watching even a very small amount of Elmo. I really think Elmo has prompted T to his new interest in imaginative play - something I can't get enough of. Anyway, in the segment on family, a young Chinese girl was talking about going out to eat with her family to celebrate her grandmother's 80th birthday. They went to a Chinese restaurant and had traditional longevity noodles to celebrate a long life. The meal ended with sweet oranges to encourage a sweet life. It sounded cool and when I saw the recipe thought,"we should try this". Well, it turned out a bit boring. It was fine, but didn't inspire joy like the version in the Elmo video. I've posted a stab at a better version. Let me know if you try it...

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Ginger, garlic, cabbage, snow peas, cilantro
Time: 40 minutes
Make ahead: I would do this last minute.

Reaction
J: "I think the posted version will be better."
M: "It turned out just ok."