FAMILY HOLIDAY in CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee . . . and PICKLED RHUBARB in SALAD

LOTS OF FUN THINGS to do in CHATTANOOGA:    We even ran out of time so we could not do all of these.

1.       TENNESSEE AQUARIUM: Daily 10 to 7:30

2.        CREATIVE DISCOVERY MUSEUM: 9:30 to 5:30 daily:  First go to Aquarium:  admission with Aquarium stub is cheaper.

3.       HUNTER MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: Sun: noon-5, Mon 10-5, Tues 10-5, Wed: noon – 5, Thurs: 10-8pm

4.       CHATTANOOGA WHISKEY EXPERIMENTAL DISTILLERY:  Sun noon-7pm, Mon-Wed: 11 to 9pm, Thurs 11am

5.       COOLIDGE PARK:  carousel and interactive play fountain

6.       LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN INCLINE RAILWAY:  1 hour minimum: Daily 8:30 to 8: Can combine with RUBY FALLS:  cave with stalactites & “Fun Forest: a multilevel activity center for children. 

7.       TENNESSEE VALLEY RAILROAD: Sun 10-5, Closed Monday, Tues-Thurs: 10-1:30: 2 hr min

8.       REFLECTION RIDING ARBORETUM:  1400 ft long boardwalk on wetland, native log cabins: Sunday 12:30-4, Mon closed, Tues – Thurs: 9:30 to 4: 1 hr min

9.       CHATTAN00GA DUCKS:  1 hr tour amphibious

10.   LAKE WINNIE AMUSEMENT PARK

11.   COKER TIRE MUSEUM:  Sunday closed, Mon-Thurs: 8am – 5 pm:  free

12.   CHICKAMAUGA MILITARY PARK: “beautiful park in wartime condition with cannons” open daily to dusk: Visitor center video:  8:30-5:  free  (p. 53 in guide)

      CARRIAGE RIDE: lovely at night when it's cooler out

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PICKLED RHUBARB in SALAD

            From: CHATELAINE magazine: May/June 2018

Pickle:

            ½ cup red wine vinegar

            1/3 cup sugar

            1 tsp salt

            2 cups rhubarb: stalks cut into ¼ inch pieces

Method:  Bring vinegar, sugar, and salt to a simmer in a small pot over medium-high.  Stir until sugar dissolves: about 1 min.  Put rhubarb in bowl and pour vinegar mixture over.  Let stand at room temp for 1 hour.

Salad:

            all the pickling liquid from above

            3 tsp Dijon mustard

            3/4 tsp pepper

           6 tbsp olive oil

            6 cups salad greens

            ¼ cup chives, cut into 1 inch pieces

            3 tbsp sunflower seeds

Shake pickling liquid, mustard, oil, and pepper in a jar to make dressing.

Toss rhubarb, chives, sunflower seeds, lettuce, and rhubarb with 2 tbsp of the dressing. 

  

DAD helped build the Church . . . and Russian CABBAGE SALAD

In 1927, homesteaders could get a quarter section of land for $10.00 in Petlura, an area about 50 miles away from Dauphin, Manitoba.   My father, Nick Stadnyk, was among the first to buy in.    

Two of Nick’s married brothers, Paul 

and Kasian (Sam), moved to Petlura as well.   

Dad’s sister’s husband, Tom Bewza, also claimed a homestead, 

but Tom already had a farm at Oakburn and just wanted the Petlura land as an investment.

      Source:  

However, Tom Bewza cleared and gave four acres of the land to the Ukrainian Greek-Orthodox parish of Petlura for a future church site and cemetery.  

The first church was really tiny so in 1942 preparations began for a new church.  "February 1942, William (Bill) Stadnyk and Nick Stadnyk [Dad] journeyed with a team of horses north of Shortdale to the Duck Mountains, along with Mike Semchych and Frank Presniak, to cut the first set of logs for the future church."   

This meant Mom was left at home to look after the children and tend the livestock!  Six children were born to Mom and Dad on that Petlura homestead.  Mom said those were good years in spite of the Depression.   Instead of coffee, they had chicory, but that didn’t bother them.  They had a nice house; great for entertaining because the bedrooms were on an upper floor. 

Marion Turetski wrote that special dinners were held at the homes of parish members in order to raise money for the building fund.   She notes that one such dinner was held by "the Stadnyk family", although the first name was not recorded. 

Dad also served on the Executive Board of the Church in 1942 and 1945 as an auditor and in 1943 as the Vice President.  

Then, about 1948, Dad decided to sell and move to Gilbert Plains.  In hindsight, that was not the right thing to do because the Petlura land was good, albeit stony, and Mom and Dad were prospering. 

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WHITE CABBAGE SALAD  (serves 4 to 6)

            From:  KYRA’S SECRETS OF RUSSIAN COOKING by Kyra Petrovskaya, c1961

1 ¼ pounds white cabbage

1/3 cup vinegar

¾ tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp salad oil

·        Slice cabbage and cut it up.

·        Put it into a pot and add salt and vinegar.

·        Simmer slowly, occasionally stirring until the cabbage becomes soft and shrinks.  This will take at least 15 minutes.

·        Cool the cabbage and add sugar and oil.

·        Serve at room temperature or out of the fridge.

I liked this as a piquant side dish, but I also just ate it on its own!  Yes, it is Yum!