美国国家公共电台 NPR--She loved Mom's picadillo but never got the recipe. TikTok moved her to get creative

She loved Mom's picadillo but never got the recipe. TikTok moved her to get creative

Transcript¹

All Things We're Cooking is a series featuring family recipes from you, our readers and listeners, and the special stories behind them. We'll continue to share more of your kitchen gems² throughout the holidays.

Growing up, Miriam Armendariz Piccolo helped her mom in the kitchen, especially when it came time to make picadillo, Piccolo's favorite dish.

Piccolo says the spices and flavors of this dish — a combination of ground beef, potatoes and chile sauce — taste like home to her.

As with many mother-daughter relationships, Piccolo and her mom did not always agree. Clashes usually resulted from cultural differences — the conservative culture in Mexico, where the family emigrated from, and the more progressive culture in their new home of Oregon, she said.

But regardless of any disagreements, Piccolo knew that when her mom made picadillo, she was making it for her, because her brother and dad weren't fans. Coming home from school to this meal meant that her mom had been thinking about her and that they would share the meal together.

"She was thinking about me some way, somehow that day," Piccolo said. "It could have been because she was loving me or maybe angry at me, or maybe I had disappointed her, but I was on her mind in some way, and she wanted to feed me and feed me good that day."

As much as Piccolo loves picadillo, she hadn't made it on her own until recently.

"I honestly didn't really know how to make it because I never got the recipe from my mom," says Piccolo, who now lives in Little Rock, Ark. "My mom was the one that would say, 'a pinch of this and add some chiles.' And she was so vague with it that I was like, I don't know what that means."

Piccolo's job back then was more about dicing³ vegetables than measuring ingredients. So, when she came across a video of picadillo on TikTok, she decided⁴ to attempt to make it herself. But this time she would have to rely on the help of her aunts. Piccolo's mother died in 2021.

The aunts gave her some tips and she got to work. It wasn't so much about how the dish tasted in the end, Piccolo said. "I wanted to show my aunts that I'm still carrying my mom, that I still got her memories and her skills and I'm bringing them with me," she said.

Piccolo's picadillo turned out to be delicious. She now plans to make it for family, friends and herself and urges others to try the recipe.

"This is going to be a good, hearty⁵ dish," Piccolo said. "Serve it with a squeeze of lemon, good, hearty corn tortillas. And it will fill you up knowing that it really was made with love."

Picadillo

Recipe submitted by Miriam Armendariz Piccolo

Little Rock, Ark.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

1-2 potatoes

1 Roma tomato

2 chile guajillo

1 chile California

1/4 of a small onion

2 cloves⁷ garlic, minced⁸

1 teaspoon⁹ cumin

1-2 teaspoons¹⁰ oregano

1 clove⁶

salt and pepper

Directions

Cook the beef and break it up until its 90% cooked. Add peeled and chopped potato and cook for about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, boil the tomato and chiles and blend with the onion, garlic, cumin, oregano and cloves so they make a watery¹¹ puree. Add the chile sauce to the beef and potatoes, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook until the potatoes are fork tender.

Serve with white Mexi-rice, corn tortillas and a squeeze of lime.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

3 dicing   

n.掷骰子，（皮革上的）菱形装饰v.将…切成小方块，切成丁（ dice的现在分词 ）

参考例句：

• We are dicing for drinks. 我们在掷骰子赌喝酒。 来自辞典例句
• A lady doesn't crawl around on the decks dicing with the crew. 高贵女士可不会和船员们在船的甲板上来回爬。 来自电影对白

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

6 clove   

n.丁香味

参考例句：

• If tired,smell a whiff of clove oil and it will wake you up.如果疲倦，闻上一点丁香油将令人清醒。
• A sweet-smell comes from roses and clove trees.丁香与玫瑰的香味扑鼻而来。

7 cloves   

n.丁香（热带树木的干花，形似小钉子，用作调味品，尤用作甜食的香料）( clove的名词复数 )；蒜瓣(a garlic ~|a ~of garlic)

参考例句：

• My country is rich in cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pepper, and precious stones. 我国盛产肉桂、丁香、生姜、胡椒和宝石。 来自辞典例句
• Ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper and cloves are common spices. 姜、肉豆蔻、肉桂、胡椒、丁香都是常用的香料。 来自辞典例句

8 minced   

v.切碎( mince的过去式和过去分词 )；剁碎；绞碎；用绞肉机绞（食物，尤指肉）

参考例句：

• He minced over to serve us. 他迈着碎步过来招待我们。
• A young fop minced up to George and introduced himself. 一个花花公子扭扭捏捏地走到乔治面前并作了自我介绍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 teaspoon   

n.茶匙

参考例句：

• Add one teaspoon of sugar.加一小茶匙糖。
• I need a teaspoon to stir my tea.我需要一把茶匙搅一搅茶。

10 teaspoons   

n.茶匙( teaspoon的名词复数 )；一茶匙的量

参考例句：

• Add two teaspoons of salt. 加两小匙盐。
• Add 3 heaped teaspoons of sugar. 加满满的三匙糖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。