Spicy Rigatoni & My Relationship With Food

This week, I found myself craving spicy rigatoni from a classic red sauce place in New York that I first tried on a trip about seven years ago. This recipe unlocked not only a fondness for that time, visiting my college roommate and solo-traveling around the city, but also some tough memories of my strained relationship with food back then.

I’ve always loved every aspect of food. My Spanish grandma and dad taught me technical skills but also a deep, unending passion for all things meaty, cheesy, oily and boozy. As a teenager, I created elaborate, themed dinner parties as an excuse to express some of my culinary fantasies. My favorite was ‘French Countryside Christmas’ - think checkered fleur de lis tablecloth, ham with Maille mustard and Gruyère, parents strongly urged to bring lots of wine… it was great.

This exploration was halted when I started to work as a model when I was 18 and entered a world where that kind of reverence for eating is non-existent. As my emotional and financial value became tied to my appearance, I stopped eating in the same way we’ve all heard so many times about models in the media. Cigarettes were my favorite meal back then and I still can’t believe I never got in an accident on any of the long drives from my parents house to la for a shoot having nothing but coffee and five Parliaments in my system. This lifestyle somehow lasted for about five years and that trip to New York, where I was asked to test shoot for a popular designer, came right at the end as my body started to protest. Once there, I was overcome with crippling anxiety the whole time, the designer’s team was deeply unkind and I pretty much decided I was over it all.

On the final night, my angel of a friend (hi helen) took me to one of those insanely popular Italian places that have squat little wine glasses that the waiters refill automatically as soon as you empty them. This meal, where we both had giant plates of pasta and drank so much wine, is where I started to retrace the path back to myself through food. I’ve found in my work cooking professionally that every woman has her own version of this path, with the journey seeming to span each of our lifetimes.

me on a shoot in arizona, 2018

Spicy Rigatoni Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of rigatoni pasta

• 1 tube of tomato paste

• 1 tablespoon calabrian chili paste

• 1 stick of butter

• Olive oil for drizzling

• Pecorino Romano for grating over top

Method:

Bring a pot of water to boil, heavily salt water to taste. Once boiling, add pasta and cook for 7-8 minutes or until al dente. Before straining, conserve 1 cup of pasta water and set aside. Strain pasta in colander and set aside. Using your pasta pot, melt stick of butter over medium heat and once foaming, add tomato paste and chili. Stir chili tomato mixture until combined and allow tomato paste to deepen in color and come to a simmer, 2-3 minutes. Add pasta water to this mixture a bit at a time, stirring to combine until you have a uniform sauce. Add pasta back into pot (with heat still on), drizzle with olive oil and stir until sauce is clinging to noodles. Plate pasta, top with grated cheese and enjoy.

Summer Solstice & Brown Sugar Ribs

Hi there, welcome to Summer! I’ve been enjoying the shift in seasons which has been quite dramatic here in Ojai with the weather floating somewhere between 90 to 100 degrees. We hosted a spur-of-the-moment Summer Solstice party last week which turned out to be a really sweet, casual yet revelatory evening. I always feel like the Solstice comes and goes without much fanfare in our house beyond my own inward appreciation. This year, i’m making the most of it by turning to three pillars that make up my idea of a quintessential June evening: barbecue, bright and healthy sides and festive cocktails. I served my brown sugar ribs, which are fantastic and easy to make for a crowd (truly- i’ve never been less stressed serving 15 people) and a jug of batched mojitos while I delegated veggie sides and dessert to our friends. Here’s to even more Summer gatherings to come! 

Brown Sugar Ribs 

Serves 5 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Materials: 

• Full sheet pan 

• Small paring knife 

• Parchment paper or aluminum foil

• Grill pan on stove or charcoal, wood or gas fired grill

• Meat thermometer

Ingredients:

1 rack of pork baby back ribs 

1 cup brown sugar (may be light or dark)

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

1 bottle bbq sauce of your choice

freshly cracked black pepper and salt to taste

Method: 

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare your sheet pan with a layer of parchment or foil in the bottom. 

Unwrap your ribs and pat dry with paper towel. Place ribs with the thick, meaty side down. Using a small paring knife or scissors remove the silver skin (thin, tough membrane covering the meat and bones) starting on one side of the rack by inserting the blade between the thin membrane and the broad, flat length of the bone. Once a bit of the silver skin is released, use a paper towel to grab hold and tug the entirety of it off the rack in a sweeping motion. When done properly, it should be able to be removed in one piece.  

Combine brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix to combine. Season ribs by sprinkling spices all over the rack on both sides, rubbing the mixture in as you go. If you, like me, enjoy a lot of sweetness and caramelization on your ribs, add more brown sugar all over, pressing into the surface rather than rubbing- this will create sticky crust on your meat. 

Put ribs into the 350 degree oven, checking temperature at 30 minutes looking for ribs to reach at least an internal temp of 165. At this point, spread ribs generously with bbq sauce on the top and bottom. Return to oven and allow ribs to cook for another 20-30 minutes or until they reach 195-200 degrees for optimal tenderness. Once temperature is reached, remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. 

If a bit more char is desired, sear the rack of ribs once out of the oven on your grill for a couple minutes to develop grill marks, about 3-5 minutes. 

Flip rack over and slice between bones to break down for serving. 

Blood Sugar Balancing Breakfasts

Hi hi! I’m so excited to begin sharing kitchen notes here in the journal section of my new site. To start, I thought I would share a few breakfasts I’ve been loving for balancing blood sugar. I’m never someone to tell others what to do, especially with health stuff, but I’ve found that prioritizing blood sugar balance has been the biggest needle-moving action for my health by FAR! I hope this helps you too in some way.

First, here are a few tricks I’ve been using to set myself up for success…

• SAVORY breakfasts only. Truly, cut out anything sweet just for a day or two and see how you feel. I went for a looong time without realizing that even just a spoonful of honey in my matcha was making me crash after breakfast- you never know! That being said, I don’t believe in unyielding restriction so be mindful to keep balanced by indulging in something sweet once in a blue moon.

• Try drinking a large glass of water with a splash of apple cider vinegar before eating. This has been found to manage blood sugar spikes by 40% according to the Glucose Goddess!

• Caffeine after food! Even just a couple bites…

Blood sugar balancing quick breakfast ideas:

• Easy breakfast tacos- eggs however you prefer, spiced black beans (canned organic black beans, heated in a pan with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and garlic), avocado & tortillas. I also love adding cilantro and salsa!

• English-ish breakfast- breakfast sausage (I love Casitas Valley Pastures), garlicky beans (I’ve been using some from Hilltop & Canyon Farm lately), my favorite charred tomato halves (slice a medium tomato in half hamburger style, throw into the fatty sausage pan cut-side down, let blacken a bit for 5-7 minutes, sourdough toast with lots of butter, fried eggs.

• Breakfast salad & steak- save some steak from dinner (even better if you have potatoes too!), reheat in a pan and serve with chopped little gem lettuce, dressed with a bit of olive oil and white vinegar. A bit of freshly shaved Parmesan and cracked black pepper doesn’t hurt. I know a breakfast salad may seem odd but don’t knock it til you’ve tried it- I would advise feeling out a day where it just feels right, I often want a breakfast salad on warm days!

• Amped up broth- in my line of work I often have jars of bone broth left over from my postpartum clients. Something I’m trying to work on is feeding myself with as much care as I give to my clients, so I’ve taken to heating a jar of broth, mixing a raw scrambled egg into the hot broth, then stirring to allow it to lightly cook. This yields a rich, protein-packed broth (do not fear egg ick people, think silky flecks of egg not chunks) that can be sipped on the go. Season your broth with sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, grated ginger and grated garlic.

Early Summer Market Report

Beauty abounds at the Santa Barbara and Ojai markets this week! I’ve never had figs this good, this early in the season…heirloom tomatoes (and good ones at that) are here too but I need to get to market earlier next week- stay tuned!