SHEHO, SK . . . and SPANISH RICE

There are MANY Stadnyks in Saskatchewan who probably are related to my family, but we don’t know any of them.

In 1905, my grandfather, John Stadnyk, immigrated to Canada along with his cousins.  John went to Manitoba; his cousins went to Sheho, Saskatchewan.   (My gedo is the one sitting down.)

We’ve passed by Sheho countless times, but this summer we decided to ‘tour’ the tiny village . . . and we’re so glad we did.

You won't see this from the highway; you actually have to drive in.

When I got out to take this picture, a man waved to me from the adjoining backyard.  “That was once a blacksmith shop,” Ivan P. informed me.

“The town’s amazingly neat and tidy,” I remarked.

“It’s someone’s job to go around and do that,” explained Ivan.

I asked about this little church across the way.  “That was the Pentecostal Church,” said Ivan.  Then he told us where to find all the other churches in town.  “But first you should go to the Teahouse before it closes.”

We asked Mrs. Hart if she had any pies and there was just one piece of apple pie left.

“But I made zucchini cake just this morning.”

The interior is really cute, but it was such a lovely day we asked if we could sit outside. 

Before long, another car pulled up, and we all sat outside chatting with Mrs. Hart like old friends.  Before marriage, Mrs. Hart was a Berezowski. 

 “There used to be another church across the highway,” she said.  “You know Ukrainians.  I don’t like you so I’m building one over there.” 

 

This was so funny because I remember Mom and Dad switching from the church in one community to another in a different town because of personality clashes with some congregation member or other.

Ukrainian Greek Orthodox

Sacred Heart, Roman Catholic

(very nice inside as noted by peeping through a window)

 

Ukrainian Greek Catholic

Marilyn, you were the inspiration for this trip as you posted a picture of this church as being the one your relatives helped to build.

******

After our big camping trip, extra European weiners  lingered in my freezer so I dug into Mary Meade’s SAUSAGE Cookbook  and came up with this simple but very good recipe.

SPANISH RICE and WEINERS  (Mary used Vienna Sausages)

3 slices bacon

1 medium onion

1 cup rice

1 large can tomatoes (796 ml)

1 can tomato sauce (213 ml)

½ cup water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

¼ tsp pepper

1 green pepper

7 to 10 mushrooms (fresh)

½ to 1 pound European weiners

·        Chop onion finely.

·        Whirl tomatoes in food processor or chop them.

·        Dice bacon and cook until crisp.

·        Start oven preheating to 350.

·        Remove bacon and set aside in a Dutch oven or casserole dish.

·        Add onion and sauté for a minute or two.  Transfer to Dutch oven.

·        Scrape up browned bits with water and add to Dutch oven.

·        Stir in tomatoes, rice, tomato sauce, and seasonings.

·        Cover Dutch oven and bake for 450 min.

·        Slice mushrooms (not thinly) or cut in quarters.

·        Chop green pepper into ½ inch to 1 inch dice.

·        Cut weiners into one inch lengths.

·        Take out Dutch oven and stir in green pepper, mushrooms, and weiners.

·        Cover, return to oven, and bake 15 more minutes.

Or turn off oven and let casserole sit in it for 30 minutes or more while you enjoy a drink and chat with your guests.   Everything will be hot and cooked just right!