Yes, "From the Heart of Hawaii’s Families" is a cookbook, but for the students at Kapolei High School who helped assemble the recipes, it was an interdisciplinary educational exercise and, for many of them, a catharsis.

Cynthia Pratt, who teaches food sciences at Kapolei, says it was a 10-year journey. Rewarding, though, and not because she has the bound pages to show for her efforts. Her students really came through. Not just with recipes, but with revealing stories that fulfill the theme.

As she writes in the book’s introduction, more than half of the 300-plus students who contributed come from nontraditional homes — those with single parents, stepparents, foster parents; extended families that include grandparents or other relatives; families coping with homelessness or a parent in prison. Many wrote about financial or health challenges and where they found the strength to overcome.

"The happiest time of my life was when my mom and dad were together, but divorce changed things," one wrote. "When mom was diagnosed with cancer I tried to help with everything just to make her happy. Life is a mystery. Things that happen can be good, bad, even horrible, but they happen for a reason."

I’ve wandered far from the topic of food here, but this cookbook also serves up a generous helping of inspiration, well worth noting.

But back to the recipes: Many come from the school’s culinary program, like Coconut and Lime Scones, showing these kids have been exposed to much creative cooking.

Some are from other parts of the school (Bowling Team’s Chocolate Layered Delight, from the 2010 state champions), or are family favorites from students or faculty (Grandma’s Nishime, from librarian Sandy Yamamoto).

Each is accompanied by a family story. Yamamoto, for example, wrote of how her grandmother maintained her kitchen skill even after losing her vision in an internment camp. "She was so precise, never losing a morsel."

I should mention that my son is in the KHS class of 2014 and some of my recipes are in the book. Not that this equates to special treatment. If you have a cookbook selling for a good cause, we’ll get yours in the paper, too. The Kapolei cookbook benefits neonatal care at Kapiolani Medical Center.

Contributors to "From the Heart" include many friends of the school, including Mel Tanioka, founder of Tanioka’s Seafoods and Catering in Waipahu. When I receive requests for poke recipes it’s usually for something "that tastes like Tanioka’s," so here’s one from the source:

TANIOKA’S SPICY AHI

2 pounds fresh raw ahi, finely chopped

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon wasabi paste

1 tablespoon sriracha, or more to taste

Gently combine all ingredients.

How to use: Spread as a filling in sushi handrolls, or spread over a pan of sushi rice and top with shredded nori and minced green onions (rice should be spread in a firmly packed layer about 1-1/2 inches thick; cut into pieces and serve like a cake or scoop out with a spoon).

Approximate nutritional analysis, per 1/4 cup serving: 60 calories, 1.5 g fat, no saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, no carbohydrate, fiber or sugar, 11 g protein

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Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S. Write “By Request,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813. Reach her at bshimabukuro@staradvertiser.com.