Coconuts and Collards: Recipes and Stories from Puerto Rico to the Deep South

Coconuts and Collards has a perfect balance between colorful and interesting memoirs, and savory recipes. I know well the Puerto Rican cuisine and have developed a taste for the southern one, but I am no chef, not even a foody, so it is a mystery how Ms. Diaz accomplished such an exquisite equilibrium between Puerto Rico and the South. ¡Buen Provecho! ¡Bravo Von! I enjoyed it so much, I had to buy one for my nephew who has recently established his own household. ¡Thank you for your labor of love!

The journey that this book takes you on is vaster than a culinary one. The author's life, her relationship with her mother, her breakup, and her culture are beautifully explored. These are the things of the heart and soul that get poured into the kitchen and make for beautiful food.I have tried many of the sides already, and I'm blown away. Easy to make and delicious. (Especially that broccoli puree and those Brussels, omg!) I recommend you buy this book!

Next time, get a better photographer.

Loved this book!My fellow Puerto Ricans never fail to amaze me. They show up everywhere and adapt to their surroundings even with their cuisine, Case in point is Von Diaz' wonderful collection of recipes and the memories that accompany them. She presents for the reader's delight a totally different perspective: Southern favorites blending with traditional Puerto Rican cooking. Apart from the food, she bares her soul and we follow and commiserate with her the ups and downs of her personal life experiences and how she uses food to heal them.Bravo Von! Can't wait to read your next one!

Having been fortunate enough to have lived in PR during my HS years(Baldwin!) I'm always on the lookout for cookbooks about PR and this one is excellent! Great backstories, readily available ingredients, beautiful photos and an author that really makes you want to jump on a plane( and clap when it lands!) and sample all that PR offers. Love this book!🇵🇷🇵🇷

Loved the Collards & Coconut recipe and also the grits and coconut milk recipe and stayed for the rest of this young woman's story! She has a tale to tell thanks to her grandma's and from moving as her father was military. I liked the size of the book, the photos, the really different recipes but most of all, I loved Von Diaz' story. It made me care much more about the people of Puerto Rico.

Oftentimes books that are described as cookbooks sneak up on us and give us storytelling that feeds us more than the recipes. In Coconuts and Collards, Von is a soulful and wise storyteller who takes us on a journey of Puerto Rico through her upbringing. I feel like I have learned more about and am closer to a people and place that I have not known much about. And I am better for it. Grab this book and go on a wonderful adventure. And take a go-cup of the Sofrito Bloody Mary for the ride!

Von Díaz has assembled a terrific book of authentic Puerto Rican food plus some of the best the American Southern cooking. You cannot go wrong with these two cuisines!