UPDATE:  According to Julie’s Twitter account, the book has raised more than $10,000 in its first few hours of existence.

Less than three weeks ago, Cuisine Canada member Julie Van Rosendaal sent an email out to the food writing community to see if there was interest in compiling a cookbook to raise funds for Haiti. There was. And today Blog Aid: Recipes for Haiti is available for purchase. The turn around time on this project is breath-taking. So is the passion behind it.

You can watch the project unfold on Julie’s blog, Dinner with Julie, but in a nutshell, it was a whirlwind of passionate energy. Chef Michael Smith contributed — despite his duties at the 2010 athletes village– as did 26 other bloggers/writers from around the world, including several Cuisine Canada members. One bone-tired art director gave 100 hours to the cause while, two companies came on board to match proceeds with donations, effectively tripling the funds raised. Proceeds raised before February 12, 2010 will be matched by the Canadian Government, which means proceeds increase to sixfold.

You can order (and preview) the book online. The hardcover version ($50) is here, and the softcover version ($25) is here.

Want more details? Here’s the press release.

Blog Aid Press Release