June 20th

Dear Journal,

Well it was a very exciting day at Fort Nisqually today. A cooking competition was held! I was so excited for the event and I knew that I wanted to participate. The day was very warm for the event. I wore my new homespun gown and pink sunbonnet. 

So that everyone could have a cooking fire, iron rings were laid on the grass and fires built inside. Mine was by the laborer’s house and the back bastion. There was about 8 teams in all, most being made up of young ladies and gentlemen. While we were cooking a raccoon decided to he wanted to join in. I heard a scratching noise coming from the other side of the wall. Suddenly a little furry head popped up over the wall, with his nose twitching in the air. Then he started to climb over and down! Well I wasn’t going to wrangle with a raccoon. So I ran at him with my fire poker and shooed him away. 

So for the competition I wanted to cook a dish that was fancier than I usually make. I decided on a fresh piece of pork braised in milk with sweet herbs. I cooked it in a dutch over for two hours. I also made a minted pea salad for a side dish. The pork recipe was a new one for me and I thought was very yummy. I didn’t win any prizes which is alright. I took the left over food to my beau and he liked it well enough.