The Spice Necklace: My Adventures in Caribbean Cooking, Eating, and Island Life

After reading her first book, I couldn't wait to get this one. She makes you feel as though you are right there next to her and her husband.

This book is essentially a sequel to An Embarrassment of Mangoes. The author and her husband return to sailing around the Caribbean. The book revolves around their travels to various islands. It contains witty and funny stories about the people they encounter, the differences of the islands, and most of all the food. The writing reveal a deep longing and fondness for the experience they had. The recipes are delicious and, if you cook them while reading the book, more deeply connect you to the experiences and people described.It is not quite as good as the original, partly because it is missing the subtext of the original departure from their busy lives, the authentic conflict of learning to live on a boat, and the newness of visiting the places that Embarrassment of Mangoes presented us with; however it does contain more deep character development, more detailed descriptions of places, and is eloquently told. If you like the escape of An Embarrassment of Mangoes then this is a good choice. If you haven't read it, read it first.

I have really enjoyed the book. Here first books was a very entertaining read about their travels in the caribbean. This books takes un into the kitchens of the people they met. Vanderhoof has taken the time to get to know the people in her travels. They have shared with her how they create those dishes. My wife and I have traveled the caribbean for the past 10 years but we have never been in one place more than a week to get to know the people to the same depth that Vanderhoof has. She recreates those recipes which I have tried and found to be very good. I'm currently making the pepper rum from the recipe in this book and am excited to try it. I love the culture, food, rum, and people of the caribbean. The food and flavors of the caribbean are rich and spicy. Vanderhoof takes the time to show where some of the flavors have originated from. Then those flavors are infused into there own national dishes. Vanderhoof gives people an insight into those cultures through food. I have thoroughly enjoyed the book.

I loved, Loved, LOVED An Embarrassment of Mangoes, and waiting impatiently for another wonderful Journey with Ann and Steve. However this one left me a bit cold. It just didn't seem to have either the passion or the heart of the other book, and often seemed disjointed. Maybe I wanted more of the sailing life, and this one is definitely more the eating life. While her food descriptions and recipes remain top-notch, I guess I was looking for more stories and relationships.

I loved her first book, but I'm enjoying this book even more. The way she writes makes me want to visit these islands, meet the people, get taken under the wing of a local and learn to cook with them. She is so blessed to have had these adventures, and we're very fortunate she wrote about them.

I fell in love with Ann and Receta and her extended family across the many islands she and her husband travel to in her first book, "An Embarrassment of Mangoes." The second book, "The Spice Neckace" is equally as wonderful - it really is. If you love the exploration of culture, people, indigenous food and cooking - you will ADORE this book! It's worth buying it in paperback because you will want to keep it and read it again. The author also has a blog about her life currently, which is another testament to the sincerity with which she writes, shares her story and those of the people she has fallen in love with in her travels, including her sailboat.Great book!!!

I loved the author’s descriptions of people, countrysides and especially the Food! Thank you to her for the recipes, although trying to cook Caribbean in the States just has not worked out for me. Maybe it’s the water, the air or the hurry-up atmosphere! An amazing book that exactly captures the attitude of the islands!

I wish they talked more about the boat and voyage just as much as the food. I love the descriptions of the cooking and spices and perrpers of the islands. I think they could have squeezed a small page before each country about the summary of the voyage and conditions in between. The authur(s) cultural idiosyncrasies are amusing and apparently proper polite Canadian dialects. The dialect adds to the clear picture of polite Canadians in unique cultural situations. Pretty entertaining.

Bought as gift