Picadillo - the tastiest recipe around!

Next Blog:  January 24, 2026

[Present blog really popular - 3,341 views in one day alone, averaging 2500+ on multiple continents (including Singapore, Kenya, Brazil, the U.S. and umpteen other countries around the globe). The manatees? Or do we have a lot of "foodies" out there? Whatever the reason, thank you all for your interest!] 

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Every winter, hundreds of manatees take shelter from the cold at Blue Springs State Park, not far from where I live. When the TV news announced that 679 had arrived during the cold snap just before Christmas, I informed my middle grandgirl as I knew she and her boyfriend would be interested (but with the qualification not to go until the tourists went home! I've been in the car line-up waiting to get in, and it ain't pretty.) So this past Sunday, Riley and Donald went to Blue Springs. The manatee counter sign said 479 manatees were currently in residence. (I believe the Park Service has a net across the entrance with an entry chute, complete with counter.) Below, two of the many pics Riley took.

 

The Reale family has an over-sized Golden Retriever, named Kylo—uber friendly—but my son-in-law caught him in a sprawl on the couch, taking a pic he sent to the extended family, labeled "Broken Dog." Talk about relaxed!

 

 

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Grace Note:  I've featured this Picadillo recipe before, but it's well worth a repeat. 

A few days ago, I suddenly realized I hadn't cooked Picadillo in a while—and immediately put together a list of what I needed to buy to make it. 

What on earth is Picadillo? (peek-a-dee-o, not pick-a-dill-o.) Well, I didn't know either until I moved to East Orlando—strong on those of Latin American heritage—in 2007. Where did I first see the recipe? Perhaps in the Orlando Sentinel. I was so intrigued by the amazing taste, I kept checking recipes, finally coming up with the following. (As noted, the varieties are as numerous as there are cooks.)

Special Note:  For spry young cooks, no problem. But if you're older, you might want to lay out all the ingredients ahead of time:  chop onion & garlic, lay out vinegar, raisins, canned tomatoes, green olives, slivered almonds & beef broth. Also, dig through your spice cupboard, laying out the whole slew of spices you'll need.

Picadillo is the absolute best thing I know to do with a pound of hamburger. Try it, you'll like it! (Don't forget to make the rice!)

 

PICADILLO

olive oil
1 lb. ground beef (1.25 or thereabouts is fine)
1 onion, chopped or sliced into small bits
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (dry minced will do in a pinch)
1 can (14½ oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
¼ - ½ cup golden raisins*
¼ - ½ cup sliced green olives
¼ - ½ cups slivered almonds
capers, to taste (optional)
½ - 1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
c. ½ teaspoon salt - less if using capers
c. 3/4 cup beef broth - or heaping teaspon of beef granules + 3/4 cup water

*regular raisins can be substituted, but it’s just not the same

Brown ground beef in small amount of hot olive oil in large nonstick skillet, adding onion & garlic when beef is nearly brown (& turning down heat to medium). Cook until onions are soft (translucent). Drain liquid.  Add tomatoes with juice, raisins, olives, almonds, capers (opt.) & all seasonings. Add beef broth. Stir to mix well. Simmer c. 30 minutes for best mix of flavors

While picadillo simmers, cook enough white rice to serve each person. Serve picadillo over rice, with added almonds, if desired. 

Note: picadillo varies according to who makes it - some add apple, some use tomato sauce, some use tomato paste, etc.  Adjust the amount of raisins, olives, almonds, & capers to suit your family’s taste. 

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To keep in step with our Picadillo recipe, this week's featured book is Florida Wild, a contemporary mystery featuring a heroine with Latin American ancestors.

 

 It's far from smooth sailing as Cass Wilder, a fledgling PI of mixed heritage, helps an American James Bond track his missing sister through a maze of backwoods Florida, redneck militias, and Middle-eastern politics. Action, romance, and occasional whimsy mark this tale of the Florida visitors seldom see. And of conditions where Romance is forced to take a back seat to Action.

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For a link to Blair's website & editing info*, click here. 

For Archives, see the menu on the right. 

 For recent blogs, scroll down. 

 Missed in the Holiday Gallery, my Regency novel which features not only a "purchased" husband, but dicey politics, and lengthy Christmas celebrations, so here it is—one of my favorites, heartily recommended for any time of the year.

 Miss Aurelia Trevor has a problem. Until she reaches the age of twenty-five, she will have no control over her beloved Pevensey Park, and by that time her unscrupulous uncle will have run it into the ground. Marriage to someone other than her uncle's leering son is her only way out, but, one by one, she rejects the men on her list of suitors. In desperation, Aurelia does the unthinkable. She hires a solicitor to find her a husband strong enough to stand up to both her uncle and her cousin. And soon learns the truth of that old adage: Be careful what you wish for.

Thomas Lanning is a man of the City. Unlike Aurelia, who stands to inherit vast land and wealth, he has made his own place in the world. He is not at all tempted by the suggestion of marriage to an heiress, but other considerations, such as a power base for a seat in Parliament, tweak his interest. Plus an unexpected twinge of chivalry when he hears the full extent of Miss Trevor's difficulties with her uncle and his family.

Aurelia, who only wants to live in peace on her acres, finds she has acquired a ready-made family in Thomas's younger sister and brother, as well as a head-strong husband whose campaign for MP fills her household with a shockingly odd assortment of characters. It seems her marriage of convenience is fast becoming a marriage of inconvenience. Just how far will this strong-willed pair bend to accommodate each other? And will they do it before it's too late? 

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 To round out the holiday, a gallery of pics I hope you'll enjoy. 

The first is so spectacular that most will take one look and scream, "AI!" So I am posting all of the message that went with it. Hopefully, I'm not mistaken when I say I believe this photo is the real thing. Setting:  Alaska

 Photographer Adam Norlin was chasing a mysterious blue flash above the frigid sea, where winter bioluminescence painted shimmering threads on the

But as he focused his lens on the sea, the unexpected happened…

Suddenly, in a flash, the sky erupted with a display unlike anything nature had ever witnessed:

A tornado formed far above the sea

Two rainbows illuminated the scene

Lightning streaked across the sky above the mountain

Three breathtaking weather phenomena emerged from a single storm, appearing simultaneously, as if nature had decided to reveal its most beautiful secrets all at once—and this spectacle lasted only four minutes… surreal minutes that combined power, beauty, and wonder.

A scene like this not only reminds us of the grandeur of our planet, but perhaps also warns us that nature is still capable of surprising us, and that behind this beauty lies a silent message still waiting to be understood.

 A quick jump to the far side of the world - Australia

"Liquid Gold" - Gold Coast, Australia

 Now back to Seminole County, Florida, on December 30, 2025. 

I have lived in Longwood for ten years and never seen such a sunset, even though my view was obscured by trees and a tall hedge. The sky, both west and south, was lit up with amazing red, rose, and pink striations. A few miles to the north, my daughter, however, managed to catch the pic below. (My view in Longwood was more pink than Susie's photo.)

Sunset, Seminole Cty, FL, 12/30/25

 

And, of course, we have to have Winter Solstice Sunrise at Stonehenge.

 

 

There are, of course, other items of interest in Florida other than sunsets . . .

 

Myakka State Park, FL*

 

*Myakka State Park is about half-way between Sarasota and Venice, Florida, and chockful of alligators. Also flamingos and other exotic Florida birds. We always took guests on the tour boat around the lake. (I presume it's still running, tho' I've been in Orlando since 2007. Highly recommended - alligators galore!) 

And as a goodbye to the Holiday Season, my Christmas Tree from 2017:

 

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Featured Book of the Week:

I chose Rebel Princess, Book 1 of the Blue Moon Rising series, to lead us back to reality after "time out" to enjoy the holidays. Sometimes, as this SciFi Fantasy series illustrates, rebellion against tyranny is necessary. (Rebel Princess was intended to be a single novel of love and rebellion in a galaxy far, far away, but it refused to conform to my initial vision, taking four books to tell the tale, plus a spin-off that takes place a few years later.)

 The Princess Royal of a pacifist planet, whose people have spent a thousand years developing their powers of the mind, stages a personal rebellion, joining the space academy of a planet that has spent a millennium developing its military might. This odd pairing goes well until her senior year when her new "friends" turn on her. Only the swift action of an honorable huntership captain saves her from rape and possible medical experimentation. As a very special prisoner of war, she spends four years in solitary confinement, where she dreams of her rescuer but has no idea she has inadvertently sparked a rebellion against the military planet's vast Empire.

When the princess-in-disguise is finally freed and tossed into the middle of the Rebellion, she discovers there is a sharp contrast between her fantasy version of the man who rescued her and the flesh and blood starship captain leading the rebellion. She must also cope with his followers who fear her psychic powers, a fey younger brother who speaks only through illusions, royal parents with strict belief in non-violence, and a fiancé who happens to be a sorcerer. It would appear the hope of toppling the Empire is a dim light at the end of a very long tunnel.

Other books in the series:  Sorcerer's Bride, The Bastard Prince, Royal Rebellion

The spin-off: The Crucible Kingdom  

 

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For a link to Blair's website & editing info*, click here. 

For Archives, see the menu on the right. 

 For recent blogs, scroll down.