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Coconuts and Collards: Recipes and Stories from Puerto Rico to the Deep South
Finalist, International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Awards in the Literary or Historical Food Writing Category When her family moved from Puerto Rico to Atlanta, Von Diaz traded plantains, roast pork, and malta for grits, fried chicken, and sweet tea. Brimming with humor and nostalgia, Coconuts and Collards is a recipe-packed memoir of growing up Latina in the Deep South.
The stories center on the women in Diaz’s family who have used food to nourish and care for one another. When her mother—newly single and with two young daughters—took a second job to make ends meet, Diaz taught herself to cook, preparing meals for her sister after school, feeding her mother when she came home late from work. During summer visits to Puerto Rico, her grandmother guided her rediscovery of the island’s flavors and showed her traditional cooking techniques. Years later the island called her back to its warm and tropical embrace to be comforted by its familiar flavors. Inspired by her grandmother’s 1962 copy of Cocina Criolla —the Puerto Rican equivalent of the Joy of Cooking — Coconuts and Collards celebrates traditional recipes while fusing them with Diaz’s own family history and a contemporary Southern flair. Diaz discovers the connections between the food she grew up eating in Atlanta and the African and indigenous influences in so many Puerto Rican dishes. The funche recipe is grits kicked up with coconut milk. White beans make the catfish corn chowder creamy and give it a Spanish feel. The pinchos de pollo —chicken skewers—feature guava BBQ sauce, which doubles as the sauce for adobo -coated ribs. The pastelón is shepherd’s pie . . . with sweet plantains. And the quingombo recipe would be recognized as stewed okra in any Southern kitchen, even if it is laced with warm and aromatic sofrito.
Diaz innovates for modern palates, updating and lightening recipes and offering vegetarian alternatives. For the chayotes rellenos (stuffed squash), she suggests replacing the picadillo (sautéed ground beef) with seitan or tofu. She offers alternatives for difficult-to-find ingredients, like substi¬tuting potatoes for yucca and yautía --root vegetables typically paired with a meat to make sancocho . Diaz’s version of this hearty stew features chicken and lean pork. And because every good Puerto Rican meal ends with drinks, desserts, and dancing, Diaz includes recipes for besitos de coco (coconut kisses), rum cake, sofrito bloody marys, and anticuado , an old-fashioned made with rum.
With stunning photographs that showcase the geographic diversity of the island and the vibrant ingredients that make up Puerto Rican cuisine, this cookbook is a moving story about discovering our roots through the foods that comfort us. It is about the foods that remind us of family and help us bridge childhood and adulthood, island and mainland, birthplace and adopted home.
The stories center on the women in Diaz’s family who have used food to nourish and care for one another. When her mother—newly single and with two young daughters—took a second job to make ends meet, Diaz taught herself to cook, preparing meals for her sister after school, feeding her mother when she came home late from work. During summer visits to Puerto Rico, her grandmother guided her rediscovery of the island’s flavors and showed her traditional cooking techniques. Years later the island called her back to its warm and tropical embrace to be comforted by its familiar flavors. Inspired by her grandmother’s 1962 copy of Cocina Criolla —the Puerto Rican equivalent of the Joy of Cooking — Coconuts and Collards celebrates traditional recipes while fusing them with Diaz’s own family history and a contemporary Southern flair. Diaz discovers the connections between the food she grew up eating in Atlanta and the African and indigenous influences in so many Puerto Rican dishes. The funche recipe is grits kicked up with coconut milk. White beans make the catfish corn chowder creamy and give it a Spanish feel. The pinchos de pollo —chicken skewers—feature guava BBQ sauce, which doubles as the sauce for adobo -coated ribs. The pastelón is shepherd’s pie . . . with sweet plantains. And the quingombo recipe would be recognized as stewed okra in any Southern kitchen, even if it is laced with warm and aromatic sofrito.
Diaz innovates for modern palates, updating and lightening recipes and offering vegetarian alternatives. For the chayotes rellenos (stuffed squash), she suggests replacing the picadillo (sautéed ground beef) with seitan or tofu. She offers alternatives for difficult-to-find ingredients, like substi¬tuting potatoes for yucca and yautía --root vegetables typically paired with a meat to make sancocho . Diaz’s version of this hearty stew features chicken and lean pork. And because every good Puerto Rican meal ends with drinks, desserts, and dancing, Diaz includes recipes for besitos de coco (coconut kisses), rum cake, sofrito bloody marys, and anticuado , an old-fashioned made with rum.
With stunning photographs that showcase the geographic diversity of the island and the vibrant ingredients that make up Puerto Rican cuisine, this cookbook is a moving story about discovering our roots through the foods that comfort us. It is about the foods that remind us of family and help us bridge childhood and adulthood, island and mainland, birthplace and adopted home.
192 pages, Hardcover
Published March 20, 2018
2 people are currently reading
246 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 21, 2018
I don't usually read a cookbook cover to cover, but in this case this is so much more than a cookbook. Recipes are divided into sections by memoirs about various influences that shaped the authors cooking life. It is a book about the places and people as much as about the food. Though I've also made several recipes and can vouch that she knows what she is talking about with food. Very delicious.
January 10, 2021
This was a lovely read to start the new year with. A hybrid cookbook-meets-memoir but I like how the cook was broken up into different timeframes from the author's life and the really descriptive memories of her grandmother and time in Puerto Rico. Most of the recipes seemed fairly accessible as well and she gives suggested substitutes for some items that might be harder to find.
Also, culantro...who knew?! I didn't!
Also, culantro...who knew?! I didn't!
March 20, 2019
Beautifully flowing memoir combined with recipes that Von Diaz presents in a casual style. You won’t find detailed instructions on how to make dishes, but you will find them imbued with emotion and love. My heart broke for her several times throughout her stories, but I also felt the salty ocean breeze and smelled plantains frying. I am excited to try some recipes – you can’t go wrong with a lot of hers! She is a talented writer.
February 8, 2024
Part memoir and part cookbook, this book tells the story of Von Diaz, a Georgia -raised Puerto Rican chef. She weaves a poetical journey of her life, and the food that accompanied it, for readers to experience La Isla Bonita as she does - home, but not home, in a way that only a true Boricua can understand. I loved reading her family history and the stories and experiences that inspired these dishes. I can't wait to try some with my Mami soon!
June 27, 2018
The personal essays in this cookbook/memoir were fabulous. The recipes looked interesting but many of the instructions were incomplete or didn’t provide enough specificity. That said, the recipes did look delicious and I cook the same way Von does!
July 5, 2018
很喜欢作者围绕在各式波多黎各recipe周边关于家人关于成长的回忆。特别喜欢第三章，里面讲述了她如何在家里最困难的时候竭尽所能喂养妈妈还有妹妹的往事，虽然很苦，但在困苦的时候一家人能够围绕在饭桌边吃上一顿虽简单却充满了爱和温馨的晚餐，这也不失为苦难中的一种慰藉:)
作者生在岛上，长在美国大陆，最后在各色的波多黎各传统食物菜肴中找回了自我，找回了自己对自身文化背景的肯定，真的很好。希望我的孩子们以后也能有幸找到自己的根。
另外书中有很多很多的recipe，我会找时间试一试哒:)
作者生在岛上，长在美国大陆，最后在各色的波多黎各传统食物菜肴中找回了自我，找回了自己对自身文化背景的肯定，真的很好。希望我的孩子们以后也能有幸找到自己的根。
另外书中有很多很多的recipe，我会找时间试一试哒:)
July 23, 2018
This a lovely, lovely book, full of both wonderful recipes as well as a moving memoir. I swore years ago that I would never buy another cookbook but I'm going to break my rule and get this one. The photography is terrific also.
July 19, 2020
I loved the author's story and reflection as it's woven into the recipes. I haven't tried any recipes yet but there are a bunch I want to make. Her description of la Isla brought a sense of nostalgia for this beautiful country and it's cuisine.
June 14, 2018
A nice book of stories and recipes but nothing that captured my interest.
November 18, 2021
This cookbook has some delicious looking recipes, beautiful pictures, and lovely stories about family, food, and one's roots. I can tell this will be a book I turn to often over the years!!!
March 5, 2022
Big fan of these memoir/cookbook style books.
January 26, 2019
Why do cookbooks not have pictures of the recipes?
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews