Maribel's Year
Maribel’s Year is out today!
Follow Maribel’s first year in America with her mother as she adjusts to a new life, new school, new everything, all while she’s waiting for her father to join them from the Philippines. It’s a story about finding home in a new, strange place and family bonds that are strengthened through time and distance.
Thank you to all of the amazing individuals who played a part in bringing this story to life, including wonderful illustrator Sarah Gonzales. Maribel’s Year was published by HarperCollins.
Happy #bookbirthday to Maribel’s Year! So much gratitude to those who preordered and shared!
Maribel's Kalamansi Blondies
To celebrate the upcoming release of Maribel’s Year on May 9, I’m sharing something special — it’s a recipe inspired by the story.
Kalamansi blondies are one of Maribel’s favorite after-school snacks. They combine Filipino and American food traditions to create something wholly unique. Maribel loves them because chocolate chip blondies are like a warm hug after a cold, wintry day at school, and the bright, refreshing notes of kalamansi remind her of the Philippines.
In order to create them, we used America’s Test Kitchen’s recipe for chocolate chip blondies reprinted on Hip Foodie Mom’s blog, and made these adjustments:
— Reduced butter to 8 tbsp.
— Added 2 tbsp. of kalamansi juice to the sugar-butter-eggs-vanilla mixture
— Used white chocolate chips
A couple of notes. Although the blondies tasted absolutely delicious with white chocolate chips, we have a feeling that milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips would work well, too. For kalamansi juice, we like using Sun Tropics Pure Calamansi 100% Juice, which you can find at Filipino supermarkets or select Asian markets. It can also be ordered online from SarapNow.
Happy baking and hope you get a chance to check out my new book illustrated by Sarah Gonzales, Maribel’s Year, which comes out in one week on May 9!
Click here to watch a video of me making kalamansi blondies!
Maribel's Year Comes Out on May 9
Get ready for Maribel’s Year — a little over two weeks until she’s out in the world on May 9! Click here to watch a lovely preview of the art to come in this new picture book that recounts the year a little girl and her mother spend in America while waiting for her father to join them from the Philippines.
May 2023 Events for Maribel's Year
Happy to announce two events in May for Maribel’s Year. If you’re local to Southern California, I’d love to see you there!
Saturday, May 6, 11am-1pm
Stay for @lb_ubefest’s first ever event in Orange County called Cafe Ube from 11am-5pm
Menu and details for Cafe Ube to be announced on @lb_ubefest
Kubo Location in Bixby Knolls
Sunday, May 21, 3-4 pm