Green Day

HOT STUFF:  Our big project for the day was something we've been looking forward to for months - making salsa verde from the tomatillos in our garden! 

The recipe I had called for (found on a blog called The Yummy Life) called for 25 tomatillos. We had enough, fortunately. We roasted them along with some garlic, Anaheim peppers, onions, habaneros from our garden, and a couple of jalapenos. 

Post-roasting, the kids carefully picked up the veggies and transferred them into the food processor.

You can tell by the look on CJ's face, this was Very Serious Business.

We added spices, some lime juice and vinegar, and cilantro, and then into the saucepan it all went.

After that, it was into jars and a water bath.  

Now, the 25 tomatillos are sitting in five tiny jars, this sized ...

It was fun listing to the 'ping!' as the jars were sealing.  We have to wait a month, until the vinegar mellows, to try it. Can't wait! 

COWABUNGA!: Today wasn't all toiling in the garden and kitchen.  This morning, the kids headed out with their oldest brother Rick to see the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.  I'm not sure who was more excited, the kids or Rick. When he was a kid, Ninja Turtles ruled our roost for what seemed like years.  That was fine by me, I rather liked the cartoon. :) 

We played around with their Web site a little this evening. They had a 'TMNT Yourself' option. 
Frankly, we weren't too impressed with it ...

Annabelle did enjoy the skateboard design game. 

I'd read rather horrible things about this reboot of the series, but the trio who reported directly to me post-movie all said they enjoyed it. I took a pass on the theater trip, choosing to install some shelving in Rick's laundry room instead. I'll have to catch it on DVD. 

ON TAP: Busy weekend ahead. Tomorrow, we're looking forward to attending the first ever .

And Saturday evening, "Sweet" Lou Pinella will be inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame.

And Sunday evening, don't miss the biggest "Super Moon" of the year. Per a NASA Solar System Exploration Facebook post,  "This Sunday night the moon will be as much as 14 percent closer and 30 percent brighter than other full moons of the year. Plus, the Perseids are peaking."

More about the "super moon" here: http://1.usa.gov/1lSHr9j

BE ON THE LOOKOUT:  We're lucky to be in the midst of a flurry of ISS flyovers right now. We've had two nice, long ones in the last few days.  It's always great to see the International Space Station streak over our house, but right now, there's an added bonus: We have a chance to see an European spacecraft trying to catch up with it!

The European Space Agency's fifth automated transfer vehicle (ATV-5, an unmanned cargo ship) was launched on July 29, and it's scheduled to arrive at the orbiting lab on Aug. 12. In the meantime, we might just be able to spot it trailing the ISS. Here's an article all about ATV-5:  http://news.yahoo.com/see-europes-last-space-station-cargo-ship-night-163530071.html

To check out when the ISS will be flying over your place, go to NASA's Spot the Station site: http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/