Leon County Cooks: Oma Pate

Oma Pate in her handy, homey kitchen cooks Candied Squash to perfection. Sherry’s Shots Folks who drive FM 831 have enjoyed the beautiful display of flowers at the Rudolph and Oma Pate home for many years. Oma has a green thumb and loves nothing more than to work in her flower beds for hours on end and Rudolph likes things neat and clean so together they make a great team for keeping a lovely yard.

The property where they live once belonged to Oma’s grandfather, H. C. Jones, then was passed down to her mother, Nettie Jones Woodard, and finally to her. Rudolph and Oma are both Flo natives with long, deep roots in the area.

Along with being an outstanding gardener, Oma is known to be one of the best cooks in the Flo Community. She bakes caramel pies from scratch, just like her mother did, and often donates them to the Lone Star Community Center Auction.

Being raised in Flo, she grew up with garden fresh vegetables on the table and one of her favorite dishes is Candied Squash. When I asked her to be our Leon County Cook she said she would like to make Candied Squash and show how it should be cooked. She doesn’t remember the first time she had squash cooked like this, but says this is how her mother made it when Oma was a child. This dish must be made in an iron skillet with real butter and real sugar. Sorry, no imitations.

Candied Squash should be cooked in an iron skillet with real butter and sugar. Sherry’s Shots Candied Squash

First pick or buy young, tender, yellow squash. Wash and slice into a saucepan. Cover with water, add a little salt and cook until tender. Drain off all water.

In iron skillet melt about 3 tablespoons of butter and add about 1/3 cup sugar. Stir until dissolved.

Measure about 2 cups cooked, drained squash and pour into skillet.

Stir to be sure the sugar doesn’t stick or burn. You do not need to stir constantly but you should watch it closely. Cook the squash until it has a caramel color then remove from heat.

Serve it to kids who hate veggies and I’ll bet they like it.

Extra Good Pasta Salad

12 oz pkg. vermicelli spaghetti,
cooked and drained
1 T Accent
1 T Lawry’s season salt
3 T lemon juice
4 T salad oil
4 oz. jar pimento, chopped
1 cup bell pepper, chopped
¾ cup green onion, chopped
1 cup black olives
2 cup celery, chopped
¾ cup mayonnaise

While spaghetti is still warm, stir in first four ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator overnight. Next morning, add remaining six ingredients. This makes a large amount of very tasty salad.