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May 08, 2010

Brian rated it:

An intriguing combination travel memoir, food book and cookbook. Vanderhoof and her husband have done two major Caribbean tours in their sailboat. After the first two year trip she wrote An Embarrassment of Mangoes. Necklace is full of amusing and fascinating stories and facts. The Saba (say-ba), the smallest country in the Carribean, is known for its 151 proof rum in which many spices have been infused. St. Kits has not enforced a law against having a still since the British left. Ten percent o More...

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Sep 17, 2010

Stacy rated it:

I received a complimentary copy of this newly published novel, an account of a middle-aged woman who takes off with her husband on a sailboat and cruises the Caribbean, exploring the culture, food and history of the places they encounter. “The Spice Necklace” is actually a second follow-up to her first book “An Embarrassment of Mangoes” which chronicled her first such sailing expedition.

In this volume, Ann returns to visit some old friends, meets many new ones, and shares around 80 More...

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Sep 07, 2010

May-Ling rated it:

i think i actually give this one 3.5 stars.

i chose a book by its cover with this one, finding it at the library with a bunch of other wanderlust type books. the book chronicles a foodie freelancing couple that buys a boat and sails around the caribbean, eating the whole way. although they had a simple lifestyle, i couldn't get past the whole thing feeling a bit elitist to take so much time off and hang out with people all the time - perhaps i'm just jealous?

i still loved More...

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Feb 12, 2011

Merreh65 rated it:

A book to read chapter by chapter trying some of the recipes as you go along. It gave me great insight into why my son and his wife have stayed in the Caribbean for so long. The life style there is laid back with great emphasis on people, food and community. Ann and her husband were embraced by the locals as their sailed around--they wisely made their interest in local food the stepping stone into each place they visited. Along the way they made lifelong friends. The generosity of people wh More...

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Mar 22, 2010

Freda rated it:

This book was a fabulous collections of vignettes from one woman's trip through the Caribbean, and all things food. I loved reading her adventures, from port to port, and was so happy the book included recipes. My readers know how I love recipes!
So I ran through what was there, and I decided to try something different. A marinade for meat. I used steaks, and made the marinade. While it was good, I wasn't blown away by the flavors.
In conclusion, I would recommend this book for a light More...

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Mar 29, 2011

Crystal rated it:

I loved this book. I think I loved it more than the first book, An Embarrassment of Mangoes. I love Ann and Steve, and think they sound like great fun people, someone with whom I'd want to share dinner and a bottle of wine. And it's their charm that leads them into so many new friendships and adventures, and secures old friendships, in this return to the Caribbean in the good ship Receta.
I was so happy to hear about Dingis again, and to make acquaintance with new friendly faces--to get More...

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Apr 07, 2011

Darcie rated it:

Now I wish I'd read this before my vacation to St. Lucia and Grenada (among a handful of other islands) back in January. Despite that, it was nice to be able to return to these places through the pages of a book and relive the short time I spent on those islands. Even though my Caribbean exposure has so far been limited to spending a few hours on each island, thanks to having been on cruise ships, I've fallen for the islands hard and just reading about them left a smile on my face every time I h More...

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Sep 14, 2010

Nisha rated it:

The Spice Necklace

A Food-Lover's Caribbean Adventure

By Ann Vanderhoof

Doubleday Canada, 459 pages, $33

FOR most of us, our knowledge of spices is confined to little glass bottles sitting in rows in the grocery store.

But Toronto writer Ann Vanderhoof's newest tale of sailing the Caribbean islands brings readers into the world of nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon and the ground it comes from.

Part travel book, part cookbook, The Spice Ne More...

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Apr 08, 2011

Amy L. rated it:

Note: Free review copy received from vendor's booth at ALA 2010.

I wasn't expecting to be so enraptured by this travelogue/recipe book, but Vanderhoof added enough of her interactions with the local people, history, the food and where it came from to keep me from getting bored with one thing or the other. However, like her boat Receta, Vanderhoof knows exactly when her writing needs to change tack and bring it around to a new topic. Readers will be thrilled, but not overwhelmed, with More...

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Apr 05, 2010

Francine rated it:

I enjoy reading about food, especially exotic food. Probably this is due to the fact chemo sucks the appetite right out of you and I will never see any of these exotic locals, so I live vicariously through books.(God Bless 'Em!)
I read the first book in this series and it was a good read. This however was a great read. A couple are lucky enough to be able to sale to the Caribbean and spend months just living and eating like the locals. Is that a dream life or what!!!!

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Aug 27, 2010

Beth rated it:

This would be more fun and beneficial if a person had Caribbean experience. I have none, yet I enjoyed the travels of this Canadian couple who ditched Toronto for life on their sailboat to learn all they could about food in "the islands". Lots of interesting recipes, although I'll pass on the roasted goat, thank you very much. I learned alot about spices in general, though and the recipes are very unusual in their native capacity!

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Oct 24, 2010

Debbie (Readerbuzz) rated it:

I like travelogues. I like books about cooking. The Spice Necklace is a two-fer, about both travel and cooking.

It’s part two of the story of a couple who sold most of what they owned and live on a boat (see part one, Vanderhoof’s first book, An Embarrassment of Mangoes, for more information). Now the couple is sailing around the Caribbean, visiting beautiful places, and sampling (and attempting) Caribbean cooking.

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Oct 29, 2010

Heather rated it:

This is the second of Ann's books about her adventures sailing through the Carribeans. Because I had so recently read the first book, I was excpecting the second to be written as well or better. I liked this second book but it just felt like she left out all of the sailing parts and life on the boat and instead focused on cooking on the islands. So, was not what I expected. It felt choppy, in that she would jump from cooking story to cooking story without the adventure between. Very jumbled More...

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Jun 25, 2010

Lex rated it:

This is a perfect summertime read. The author has a real gift for capturing the feel of tropical places, and made me long for the food and sights of Grenada and Trinidad (places I knew very little about until reading this book). I did skim over some of the bits about rum and drinking-- the book should really called the Food AND Drink Lover's Caribbean Adventure-- but food lovers can't miss this book for her loving and reverential representation of the cuisine of the "Spice Necklace" More...

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Mar 04, 2011

cat rated it:

2011 Book 29/100

The perfect book to read on a cold and dreary Iowa afternoon. The story of Ann Vanderhoof and her husband's sailing and cooking adventure through the Carribean (complete with recipes) made me swoon with imagined sunshine, spice, and ocean smells. Can't wait to try some of the curries she shares, and someday hope to visit many of the islands that she lovingly describes.

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Jun 09, 2011

Roberta rated it:

I enjoy books that combine travel and food. This one is delicious and well written. Dipping in and out as I read other things.

Really enjoyed this. It was like having summer when ours has been so late. The recipes are out of my league; they mostly sound pretty complicated, but the cast of characters is endearing and she writes well. I would certainly eat anything she cooked me.

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Aug 14, 2010

Carol rated it:

I really liked this because I can use it as a resource if I speak on a cruise ship again about the Caribbean. The author & her husband traveled on their boat throughout many of the islands that we visited. They weave culinary adventures with the local people with information about the islands and intriguing recipes

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Sep 09, 2010

Karen rated it:

I LOVED the concept of this book. In execution though, it droned on. If you have the travel bug or you're a foodie you'll appreciate her descriptions of locales, food and recipes but often times it is difficult to muddle through the stories.

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May 01, 2011

Melody rated it:

I couldn't get beyond my hatred of the authorial voice. There's this undertone of superiority that I think is totally unintentional, but it's grating. I didn't like the tone, I couldn't get past my perceptions to fully enter into the narrative. Just didn't like it one bit.

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Aug 13, 2010

Marjorie rated it:

I think what I found most amazing about this book is that the author spends 3 years cruising around the Caribbean in a sailboat and (fortunately for me) doesn't feel obligated to detail the boating experience. Instead, she's all about food and has a delightfully slow-paced approach to the different islands and their diverse foodstuffs. The recipes, for the most part, didn't do much for me, but her writing style is fun and informative.

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Sep 10, 2011

Anginimohammed rated it:

This was absolutely delightful. As a person from the Caribbean, Trinidad, she brought the region and its peoples and food to life. Her portrayal of Trinidad is wonderfully accurate. It was so much fun to read.
The downside is that it was a little too long.

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Jul 03, 2011

Patricia rated it:

Traveling through the Caribbean by boat, the author enjoys trying not only eating, but cooking the various foods offered by these islands. Having spent a couple of years in Trinidad, I thought some of her observations a bit over romanticized, but that's the joy of being a tourist and not a resident. Still an interesting read if you like to read about different cultures & the foods they eat.

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May 23, 2011

Darlis rated it:

This is a wonderful biographical, travelogue, adventure, recipe book. The Canadian travelers return to the Carribean to find out about the food they have come to love and the people they met who shared their dishes with them. They travel to many interesting places and talk to interesting people. There are recipes that sound scrumptious! I can't wait to try some of them.

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Mar 08, 2011

Jackie rated it:

Wish I could do what she and her husband did. I don't think that I am trusting enough of people to do it though. Copied a couple of recipes to try. A very nice and informative escape book.

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Jan 04, 2011

Diane C. rated it:

A travelogue/cookbook about a retired journalist couple sailing around and living in the Caribbean islands. Their lifestyle is to do as much like the locals as possible, learn the customs, cuisine and festivals. I loved the pace of the book, the anecdotes about friends, trips, cooking successes and failures.

If I can't go to a warm island climate this winter, I can read the Spice Necklace.

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Sep 14, 2010

Lhaver rated it:

I was a little underwhelmed by this book given how much I enjoyed Vanderhoof's first book, "An Embarrassment of Mangoes". The vignettes offered were too similar to the first book.

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Mar 12, 2010

Gillian added it

great to have met the author last saturday, interesting to learn about tonka beans too
some of the recipes look inviting
I really enjoyed the history described in this book of food and the places visited

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Jan 10, 2011

Mary rated it:

Honestly, I didn't expect this book to be as interesting and funny as it turned out to be. And perhaps it's because I read it in the dead of winter in Montana, that I found it so refreshing and engaging...but I really think it is, all on its own.

I love that there are recipes! Not that I'll ever be able to make them, mind you, but I cherish the idea that if I were ever to obtain plantains that I could whip up some mouth-watering entrees....

I'm glad I bought it, rather t More...

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Mar 07, 2011

Sphinx rated it:

Not bad, but not fabulous either. The recipes are almost completely inaccessible to a cook not in the Caribbean or not near a Caribbean-influenced market.

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Oct 04, 2010

Melisa rated it:

My favorite kind of book: a fascinating memoir full of new places, experiences, and recipes. I loved it--and the green seasoning really is terrific!

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