Calera Uchigakiuchi Schlesinger, known affectionately to her family and friends as "Cal," is the adopted child of an entrepreneurial, Japanese mother and an artistic, cosmetic plastic surgeon, American father. She attends a Catholic girl's school, Sacred Hearts Academy, in Honolulu and has studied Shotokan karate for the past seven years. Cal has a cat named Burt and the sign on her bedroom door is "The Swamp," for good reason. She is an artist (she and her father, Larry, love the story of, Alice in Wonderland, and Cal's paintings based on it are pictured in this book). She and her mother, Arlene, love to cook-especially for friends and family. Cal also loves photography and took all the photos of the recipes for this book. Cal's pride in being creative also extends to the kitchen (when things don't work out quite the way a recipe said it would). As with art, so it is with food; it's very important to think creatively-and Cal's creativity has transformed meals from "doubtful" to "delicious." Through that experience she has come up with her own unique recipes to be part of something more than a simple "meal" and make it a special time with family and friends. Since in Hawaii, family is everything, Cal wanted to share some of her simple, yet delightful, recipes with other teenagers so they too can cook for their families. You're holding the result in your hands