As always

In the minutes and hours after the earthquake ravaged Haiti on January 12, 2010, it was nearly impossible to make sense of things. It was impossible to grasp the scope of the devastation, the depth of the grief felt by a nation and by the world.

The need for help was obvious; in newspapers, on the internet and on television, our minds were filled with the staggering stories of those lost and those left to mourn, heal and rebuild.

It seems it was only moments later that Julie Van Rosendaal reached out with the simple question, "can you help?" She had already jumped into action, registering the site BlogAid.org and coming up with an inspired idea.

Just like those collaborative cookbooks so many communities create to raise funds, we'd do the same - but on a much, much larger scale. Within hours, Julie had gathered together a group of 27 international food bloggers, all eager to contribute recipes and photographs to this labour of love. And hope.

Julie then secured the help of an artist for the cover image, a designer for the layout. Two printing companies. Three weeks later, they were done their work and we had a 110-page, full-colour cookbook.

And now, if you'd like, you can buy a copy of your very own, with monies raised to go towards the Haitian relief effort through the Red Cross and Doctor's Without Borders.

Amazing, right? I've not even gotten to the super amazing part. Julie's work was pretty amazing already but this, wait until you hear this - you know those two printing companies? Well, West Canadian Graphics in Calgary and Blurb in San Francisco made generous donations of not only their time and resources, but also matching a percentage of book sales. To top that off, the Government of Canada will match our total amount raised, up until February 12, 2010.

It is an opportunity to make each and every dollar count. To order, go here.

I'm without a recipe today, but I'll back after the weekend with something to say thanks for listening.

It's appreciated. As always.