Extra Helping ― Recipes for Building Community One Dish at a Time

Show up, be kind, and cook! Sixty recipes for those who need a helping hand in your community.

There is no more essential way to show up for people than on the plate. Extra Helping is for anyone who wants to respond to the challenge of baby announcements, PTO meal chains, and CaringBridge alerts with compassion and creativity; who wants to send something to a niece overcome by finals week or a neighbor who is grieving; who wants to rise above their default setting; and whose limits of time and other resources leave them feeling more confused than inspired. With recipes tailored to meet many of the dietary modifications that illness and recovery (not to mention modern life) often entail, as well as suggestions that range from mailing a kick-ass care package to bringing over a full, hot meal, Extra Helping frames a philosophy of support, a personal identity of tending, a creative and unique-to-you style of saying, "I am here for you"--one delivery at a time.
In eight chapters, Extra Helping walks the helpful friend through cooking for people who are dealing with illness, recovery, and loss--or celebrating babies, birthdays, and new homes. Personal stories from the front lines of care, shortcuts for the time-strapped, and sidebars full of tips and embellishments round out a collection of over 60 recipes, aiding readers in developing a style of caregiving all their own.

JANET REICH ELSBACH lives in a rural community in Western Massachusetts. She teaches writing to high school students and to adults with developmental disabilities and, for over ten years, was a counselor to new and growing families. She writes about how all the numerous things going on in the average life collide with making dinner on her blog A Raisin & a Porpoise. Janet is a graduate of Stanford University with a degree in Anthropology and a focus on writing and holds a Masters in Education from New York University. She has chased strange ingredients, healing nutrition, and good food all her life and is a regular contributor to the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. Her writing has appeared on Food52, Modern Loss, Manifest Station, Role/Reboot, and Verily Magazine.

ANNA BRONES is a papercut artist, freelance writer, and founder of Foodie Underground. She is the author of The Culinary Cyclist, Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break, Paris Coffee Revolution and Hello, Bicycle.