From funk to 'The Mango Tree' — guess who's writing a book!

What started as a career funk, and briefly became a cookbook, is now a book-book with a real book publisher, and I can't stop pinching myself.

Three years ago, in spring 2019, I was in a funk.

I’d just passed on a job opportunity that would have allowed me to write in a much larger market. I was edging up against my 15th year at The News-Press, and for the first time in my decade and a half as a journalist, I didn’t have any meaningful career changes on the horizon.

My working life had, to that point, been divided into five-year increments. This was never my plan — I’m a horrible planner — it’s just how things worked out.

I spent the five years after college working in restaurants. I spent my first five years at The News-Press primarily writing sports. I spent the next five years as a food writer and critic, re-imagining the Taste section. And the next five helping to build up the food writing for our newly acquired sister paper, the Naples Daily News.

The timing would have been perfect for a new position. But that would have required a move, a move that proved unfeasible. Instead, I stayed. And wallowed.

And funked.

The thing about funks is, you often need external forces to free you from them. Mine was named Tyler Florence. The celebrity chef, as I wrote here last year, was in Fort Myers shooting a Food Network show. We happened to have lunch, and he happened to ask if I’d written a cookbook yet.

“You have the kitchen experience,” he said. “And you’re a writer.”

This bit of lunchtime advice felt ridiculous. Yeah sure, millionaire celebrity chef Tyler Florence, why don’t I just write a cookbook!? But as his words simmered in my head, they felt more and more reasonable. More actionable. More, hey-why-not. So, I started writing.

Very briefly, this thing I was writing was indeed a cookbook. Mainly in that it had a single recipe for a mango cocktail (I’ll share, just keep reading). Soon, though, it became a bunch of essays and short stories. At some point, those stories connected themselves and turned into “The Mango Tree,” a memoir about my mixed-race life in Robert E. Lee County, my fiery Filipina mother, and the rise and fall of the fruit tree at the heart of our family.

Last week, this post-funk-not-a-cookbook book found a publisher. I am honored and thrilled to be working with the inimitable Vivian Lee at Little, Brown and Co. to bring “The Mango Tree” into the world. She is quite honestly my dream editor. I’ve followed her for years, and I keep pinching myself in disbelief. Thankfully, I’ve yet to wake up.

In the snail’s-pace world of publishing, my book is slated to debut in spring 2024 (mark your calendars). Exactly five years after my funk.

I didn’t quite plan this — I’m a horrible planner — but here we are, right on schedule.

Sparkling Mango Margaritas

Apparently, one cocktail recipe does not a cookbook make, so here you go. Cheers!

Florida’s mango season is back. My favorite thing to do with a bunch of ripe mangoes is peel, pit and puree them with a squeeze of lime juice. This puree is deliciously versatile: spoon it over vanilla ice cream; mix it into banana bread; add it to smoothies, mimosas or cocktails like this one. It will keep in the fridge for weeks, or it can be frozen into cubes and stored for months.

This recipe makes 2 cocktails.

Ingredients

salt, sugar or Tajín (optional for rimming)

2 ounces mango puree

4 ounces silver tequila

2 ounces orange liqueur (Cointreau, Triple Sec, etc.)

1 ounce lime juice

1 handful ice

Splash of seltzer (optional)

Directions

Rim two glasses with salt, sugar or Tajín, using a swipe of mango puree to help the granules stick.

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously for 30-45 seconds or until the top of the shaker is icy to the touch. Pour into rimmed glasses (I like to pour in the ice cubes, too). Add a splash of seltzer for a bit of sparkle and enjoy.