Dear Diary, May 14th, 1805

The Captains worries have increased about our journey up and across the Rockies as winter is nearing. If it were to snow in the Rockies, I'm afraid I'd freeze to death, and we would loose a great number of men. As we stared at the mountains, we lost hope for our success. All we can do is do our best.

Dear Diary, May 31st, 1805

The riverside and cliffs that we passed today struck me in awe. I was speechless. Huge amounts of white rock were warn away over millions of years into majestic towering sculptures. With a little bit of imagination, you could picture each sculpture as being a castle. Never before have I encountered such beauty. This is a snapshot that will be held in my mind forever.

A Sad Digestion of Homework

Dear Diary April 30th, 2009

Oh the tales are told about the mysterious way that homework vanishes out of sight. Dogs sometimes play a big role in these tales, as you have probably heard the phrase: my dog ate my homework. Well, about a week ago from today, I woke up to a mysterious case of a plastic bag laying in shreds on the carpet. I had been looking for the beef jerky that I had prepared for my mess the night before. I lay my eyes upon the ledge I had set the meat on, and well, nothing was there. Pondering on the thought, I figured out that in the middle of the night, Sea jumped onto the couch, hopped onto the table, and snatched the bag filled with meat with his jaws, and brought it down to the carpet where he would tear the bag to shreds and have a joyful snack. That very night, I remember hearing Sea at the side of my parents bed across the hall yelping to go outside after eating that bag of thunderbolts.

Buffalo Meatballs

Buffalo Meatballs

1lb ground buffalo meat

1/2 cup Italian style breadcrumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 large egg

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees

Mix all of the ingredients together thoroughly except for the water. Add the water to the combined mixture until creamy.

Form your meat mixture into 16 equal balls

Lay the meatballs on a broiling pan, making sure they are evenly spaced out

Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven

Bake for approximately 20 minutes, rotating the meatballs one time towards the end of the baking process. They may need a few more minutes, depending on your oven.

Beaver Tail

Beaver Tail

Ingredients:

One Beaver Tail

Seasonings

Directions: Hold the beaver tail over an open flame until the skin blisters: a sign that the meat is fully cooked. Season with your favorite seasonings for a mouthwatering treat.

Jerky

Jerky is a very convenient food to carry with us on our voyage. It consists of meat that has been dried in the sun for a rather long while, and sprinkled with salt. This conserved surplus meat is a scrumptious treat in rough times.

Ingredients:

Meat (any variety, but not ground)

Salt

Seasonings of your choice

Directions: Find a spot outside that receives a good amount of sunlight. Place a pan of your choice out in that spot. Salt your strips of meat. This will help absorb all of the juices. Also, if you want to spice your meat up, do so after you season with salt. Place your meat on the pan outside, and leave it rest for a day or two, flipping it over every few hours. When the meat is dried to your liking, enjoy.

Collections

Dear Diary, October 21st, 1804

I, Captain Clark, have been collecting various animals throughout the whole expedition. I have collected things from snakes to live animals such as prairie dogs. Now that I think about it, I am terribly ashamed of what I have done to poor seaman for killing his beloved prarie wolf. I can't imagine the agony and sorrow he had to go through seeing me skin and cut apart her flesh. I am almost ready to send off a package to president Thomas Jefferson filled with journal entries, animals live and dead, maps, observations, and many more things. I plan to send the package off in a few days, for we want as much as he wants himself to be informed about what we have encountered thus far. I plan to work with Captain Clark as well as my men to put together another package filled with many more memories, good, and bad.

The New Pup

 Dear Diary,                     May 14th, 1805

As soon as I sniffed her body, I knew that within her was a little pup. I was the first one to discover this, and knew the men and her would be caught by surprise in a few weeks. Her name is Sacajawea, otherwise known as bird woman. She is my companion. Sometimes she will kill little rats and mice, and sneak them my way to be eaten. We go on walks together, she pets me, gives me love, and cares about me. I can't even begin listing all of the things she has done for me, and now I am doing her a favor. Laying by her side, I am watching her give birth to the most beautiful little child I think I will ever see. She is experiencing excruciating pain, and has been in labor for a really long while. The captain is clueless on what to do to help her, but luckily a crew member suggests to break up a rattlesnake rattle into tiny pieces, and add it to water. This is supposed to quicken the baby's arrival. Sacajawea gladly took a drink of the special water, and sure enough, a few minutes later, her little child was born. I choose to bark his name as Pomp, but his full name is Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. From now, he will be the youngest member on our voyage, and become part of our big family.

Rabbit Ragu

Rabbit Ragu with Pappardelle Pasta

Ingredients:

3/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling on pasta

2 whole rabbits, each cut into 4 to 6 serving size pieces, as preferred

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup instant flour (recommended: Wondra)

2 cups minced onions

1 cup minced carrots

1 cup minced celery

1 teaspoon garlic

1 (28-ounce) can while peeled tomatoes with juices, crushed by hand

2 bay leaves

1 sprig thyme

1 sprig rosemary

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 cups chicken stock

1 pound dried pappardelle pasta

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions: Coat your cooking pan with a few drizzles of oil. Turn your stove top burner to medium- high heat. Season and dredge the rabbit pieces. Add the seasoned rabbit to the pan of hot oil. Cook the rabbit until it is golden brown (about 5 minutes per side). Once cooked, transfer the meat onto a plate lined with paper towels. Turn the heat down to medium. Oil the pan again, and add the vegetables and celery stock. Cook until the vegetables are caramelized. Add the garlic, tomatoes, and herbs to the pan, and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Add the chicken and rabbit back into the pan. Cook until the rabbit is very tender. Cook the pasta, and toss it with the sauce.

Sloppy Buffalo Joes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 pounds ground chicken or turkey breast

1 carrot, peeled and chopped or grated, 2 stalks celery, chopped

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 to 1/3 cup hot sauce (recommended: Frank's Red Hot)

1 cup tomato sauce

1 cup chicken stock

8 good quality burger rolls, split and toasted

1 cup blue cheese crumbles

2 large dill pickles chopped

Directions: Heat a large skillet with extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Break your meat up with a wooden spoon, and add it to the pan. Cook the meat for 5-6 minutes. Add in your vegetables, and season with salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Cook for 7-8 minutes more. In a bowl, combine all of your liquid ingredients. Pour the liquids into the pan with the meat, and stir to combine. Simmer for a few more minutes. Pile this delicious meat on top of buns, and top it off with blue cheese and chopped pickles

Honey Cornbread Muffins


Ingredients:


1 cup yellow cornmeal


1 cup all-purpose flour


1 tablespoon baking powder


1/2 cup granulated sugar


1 teaspoon salt


1 cup whole milk


2 large eggs


1/2 stick butter, melted


1/4 cup honey


Directions: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.


Into a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir until just mixed. Make sure to have some muffin liners ready. Separate your muffin liners, and apply them to your muffin pan. Evenly distribute the cornbread mix into the papers. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.

Seamen's New Little Friend

Dear Diary, October 26th, 1804

I had been thinking about the little prairie wolf I had encountered a few weeks back on the boat. I remember the men shooting at it, trying to kill it, but something between the little wolf and I, I don't know how to describe it, but I liked her without ever even meeting her. I had tried to save her the day she almost got shot. I had jumped overboard the boat, and swam, trying to reach the point where she was, but never made it. A few days ago, I decided to go on a little adventure to try and find her, but got chased down by a pack of wolves. I somehow hoped that she would never come back, in fear of the men killing her. Captain Clark shot her while I was on a ramble today with Captain Lewis. When I got back to camp, I found my little beauty dead. I could not watch as the captain measured her, and stripped her fur away. I feel as if my heart has been crushed.

A Tragic Death

Dear Diary, August 20th, 1804

Sergent Charles Floyd has been extremely ill for the last few days, and he has been suffering large stomach upsets all night long. Captain Clark has had no sleep all night, for he has been keeping an eye on Floyd. I am now sitting alongside him on the keelboat, thinking up ways to treat his illness. I have decided to try and give him a hot bath to see if that will make him feel better. My men are working on heating up some water with the fire, and steering the keelboat to shore. I have asked York and Captain Clark to carry Floyd to his hot bath. They lay him down next to the fire, for the water was still heating up, and a couple of seconds after that, Floyd said that he was leaving us, and slowly closed his eyes for the last time. We took his body up to a high bluff above the shore, dug a deep hole, and rested his body inside. Once he was completely covered with dirt, Captain Clark wrote on a piece of wood: Charles Floyd died here, 20 August 1804, and placed it right where the body lay. 

On The Trail With The Captain's Dog

Dear Diary, July 4th, 1804

I have been looking forward to this day for months, and it is finally here! It is July 4th, the celebration of independence, and the United State's birthday. Everybody is served an extra shot of whiskey, and fires up the weapons for a joyful kaboom! A couple of days before this big celebration, Private Hollins, and Private Hall decided to sneak out to the whiskey barrel and steal an extra shot of whiskey. Drunk, the two men started to sway and dance. Seaman, Captain John's watchdog was watching them with undivided attention. The behavior of the two drunk men woke the captain from his sleep, and they held a court meeting the next morning. Private Hollins and Private Hall both turned out to be guilty, so they had to go through a whipping with a leather whip. When the whip struck, I saw the brutal blood, cuts, and bruises each time. Private Collins got 100 lashes, and Private Hall only had to get 50. By the time they were done with the punishment, the men had fainted, and had to be carried to go get their wounds cleaned.

On The Trail of ReDiscovery

Dear Diary, August 10th, 1804

Captain John believes very strongly, as do I, about recording what we experience, see, and explore on our voyage. He will be providing each crew member a journal in which we will write entries, draw maps, record recipes, wildlife, and many more things. My mess and I will be using our virtual laptops on this trip for writing in. The laptops are our personal portable desks. They hold all of our paper, feathers, inkwells, ink, candles, matches, and pictures in an organized fashion. The captain will expect us to be very critical about what we write, and record as much as we can, for he wants the information about our voyage to be kept for a long period of time.