I really enjoyed the premise of this book! I love hospitality and the focus on specific ways to help people in different stages of life. This would be a great go to book to have on hand when people need a little extra help and you don't know what to bring!

If, like me, your first reaction to someone going through a hard time is to want to feed them, this is the book for you. Broken into sections by event type, such as a new baby or illness, recipes are designed for meals to take your friends or family in need of love in the form of a casserole.

In addition to clearly being a good cook, Elsbach is also quite funny, such as an anecdote she tells of bringing friends a lasagna as they move into their new home, only to return later and find that they've been scooping it out of the pan with teacups because they couldn't find any silverware or plates. (Lesson: think about things like utensils and plates when you're taking someone food.)

I was excited about this book because answering the age old question, what's for dinner, is hard enough but to answer it for someone else can be overwhelming. There are a few recipes included in the book that I would like to try out but being a foodie from the Midwest I just can't see springing some of the flavor profiles in the recipes on a sick or grieving person. In my opinion when you are sick you just want some good old comfort food and flavors. This book provided very little of these type of flavors. While the book did offer some tips on transporting and presenting meals, it didn't inspire me to make any of the recipes for those I know in need of a meal.

I really liked the idea for this book 'extra helping', 'helping hands', 'community'. It's a great book that encourages helping (and with good food). It seems a grassroots organization book which I loved. This collection is well-thought out with great 'For' section that changes recipes dependent on the needs (gluten-free), or the 'other ways' section. I'm someone who needs photos (for ideas of what it should look like when I fail miserably) and unfortunately, Extra Helping does not have any. However, I found the entire book easy and interesting to read and how organized the recipes were (food for expanding families, those who have been rearranged and relocated, illnesses, etc).

#ExtraHelping #NetGalley'

Heartwarming recipes to help friends, family, and people dealing with illness, recovery, and loss, or celebrating babies, birthdays, and new more. Good inspiration for community kitchen projects.

Extra Helping shares 60+ recipes and tips on taking care of community in both celebration and in grief. Each of the eight chapter covers a common life change (such as relocation, new baby, illness/recovery) with an introduction by the author including personal experiences and how we can be helpful to the people we care about through both food and actions.
The recipes included cover most dietary needs and include vegan, vegetarian, and a few meat options. Gluten free options are usually included in the recipe and end with further substitutions/suggestions.
Some of the recipes contain random ingredients the average household probably won't have on hand, including dried Kombu seaweed (where do you even find that??), buckwheat flour, and flax seeds. I appreciated the section on feeding a large crowd, where recipes for 20+ servings were included. My favorite recipes in this collection were wild rice soup and lemon mousse.
While there are some common comfort foods included in Extra Helping, most recipes are unique and some of the ingredients and instructions can be somewhat involved. I mostly appreciated the author sharing her personal experiences, tips, and discussion on the importance of community.
Many thanks to Roost Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I liked the quotes about food and the pleasures of eating in different calligraphy styles but I’m not so sure about the use of just green and black throughout the book.
Lovely to see gluten free versions of the recipes included but because the recipes are given in three boxes you need to be careful you don’t miss the ingredients which are common to both normal and gluten free versions.
Do I need to see a photo of the finished item? Yes I thing I do!
Thanks to Net Galley, Janet Elsbach and Roost Books for this advanced copy.