Just making its way into bookstores is a new cookbook that has a couple of things going for it: It benefits the work of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation and it will help you to learn more about locally raised produce. "The Hawai'i Farmers Market Cookbook, Fresh Island Products from A to Z" (Watermark, $13.95) is a project of the Honolulu chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier, a society of professional women in the food, beverage and hospitality fields.

In the interest of full disclosure: I'm a member and I had a small, volunteer hand in this book, contributing a recipe and writing a few short profiles of local farmers. But I'd write about it even if I'd played no role, because the cause of eating locally is dear to my heart, as is the importance of giving more than lip service to diversified agriculture, ecotourism and supporting small- to medium-size farming to save the green in our Islands.

The book opens with a brief overview of Hawai'i agriculture today and moves on to the history and importance of the local farmers' markets, of which the Saturday market at Kapi'olani Community College is the biggest and best known.

An impressive list of Island produced food goods — from 'ahi to zucchini — follows. The book is organized alphabetically, with each item introduced with a brief essay and followed by several recipes contributed by members of Les Dames and their friends. You'll learn about varieties, basic preparation and handling tips, too. Mini-profiles of farmers offer insight into their lives, challenges, dreams and concerns.

Among the fruit covered in the book is liliko'i, or passion fruit, and Elizabeth Iwata of Neiman Marcus contributed a recipe that has often been requested in this column: passion fruit curd. You can use this tart-sweet custard in a meringue or cream pie, to fill a cake, or as is, with scones or muffins.

This is best, of course, made with juice pressed fresh from local liliko'i, sold at farmers' markets in season. But you can also use juice concentrate.

PASSION FRUIT CURD