Blackened Salmon

And the Pucked Up BBQ Dust.

Blackened Salmon and Shishito Peppers with the BBQ Dust from Eat Happy Kitchen

I can tell how many people at Instagram and Facebook don’t subscribe to this Substack newsletter because when I posted a story about my first post-surgery outing, I got a ton of well wishes from folks who had no idea. And some of these well wishers are close friends and even family.

I hate that the internet and the algorithms keep us apart instead of bringing us together.

But our divided attention and scattershot platforms are a reality of 2024. There’s no one place that exists where I can get information out to my core peeps. Emails get sent to spam. Posts no longer get shown to the people who’ve opted into seeing them. Heck, even this Substack newsletter decided in its infinite wisdom to create an app that no one checks, so peeps miss my recipes.

Side note, if you can, switch your Substack preferences back to receiving these posts as emails.

So to catch folks up to speed on what’s up with me…

I had a full hysterectomy 13 days ago. I go into my experience on the past two Monday episodes of the Fitness Confidential podcast.

I am doing GREAT! Today I went on a three mile hike that included several hills. I put on and zipped up jeans for the first time since 2023. The incisions are healing, the inflammation is settling down, and I’ve lost 8 pounds since I weighed myself the morning before the procedure.

It was a much harder recovery than I anticipated. I’ve been known to be cavalier about the powers of my body before. I have mad respect to anyone who’s had their abdomen or chest cut into. I can’t imagine doing this without staying the sugar-free course as it’s helped me so much.

I still have a business to run and voice over jobs to do, so I only really had two days off entirely from work. Every day my mantra was to just get a little bit better each day. And I’m privileged I get to work from home most of the time.

I’ve turned a corner, and I know I will be an even better version of myself now that I’ve had that bad shit removed.

I put off this surgery for years thinking I could overcome my endometrial and perimenopausal symptoms with diet, exercise, supplementation, and a positive mental attitude. All of those things serve me very well. To a point.

But I finally got real with my doc and myself, and decided the inflammation and symptoms had become too much. I believe we always have the power to change things, even if it doesn’t look the way we think it should. God gave me a gift of being able to have this surgery.

Other than my health improving, which is the bestest part of this whole thing, my close-second-favorite-thing has been HEARING FROM YOU!! I can’t believe the number of people who’ve gone through this or are considering it. And I’m also hearing from you dudes living with a woman who’s gone through it or is considering going through it.

I’ve learned that it’s okay to talk about this shit!!

At first it felt icky to say the word “hysterectomy” publicly.

Wow.

Why is that? Internalized shame? Self-inflicted misogyny? Being raised in the south, we were taught not to discuss our lady problems publicly. Or with anyone aloud, for that matter.

But y’all know I have a big mouth. I’ve always said I’m a HIPAA violation on myself as I’ve been talking about my stuff publicly since 2002.

So why stop now?

I decided to come clean with everyone two weeks ago in the hopes that if I tell my story, I won’t be excoriated for it, but instead, that my candor will help someone else going through what I’m going through feel not so alone.

I got you, Boos.

PUCKED UP BBQ

Let’s talk dust.

We don’t use any fillers, starches, anti-caking agents, sugar, grains, or anti-slip agents in our spices. Everything you pay for in the canister is actual real food.

This is not the norm in the spice industry.

Somehow 3-4 months ago, a batch of our beloved BBQ Dust started to cake up in the canister, even though it really shouldn’t. We call them Pucked Up. They’re still perfectly delish, but you have to jam a fork in there to separate the dust and use it.

We’ve marked these Pucked Up BBQ Dust canisters down to 33% off. We have 45 twin packs left, and once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Click here to grab some, plus watch the video I did that explains how it all happened.

Then click back here and make this blackened salmon in your Corsori Air Fryer or your oven.

Here’s the downloadable PDF version of this simple but delicious recipe to add to your collection.

Here’s the Shishito Peppers recipe post. I strongly recommend you make to go with this salmon.

Thank you again for your support. I can finally say I’m ready and excited to see what 2024 brings.

And I’m excited to keep supporting y’all with delicious, easy recipes, sauces, spices, and scintillating conversation.

XO

Anna

Blackened Salmon made in my Corsori Air Fryer

BLACKENED SALMON (AIR FRYER OR OVEN)

(Serves 2-4)

• 1-2 pounds salmon filets (I usually estimate 1/2 pound of salmon per person)

• Olive oil spray or avocado oil spray

• 2 tablespoons EHK BBQ Dust

• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon ground cayenne (for extra heat, to taste)

Air fryer directions:

Spray salmon filets with olive oil spray. Whisk desired amount of cayenne into BBQ Dust and sprinkle spice mix onto the salmon to coat. Place salmon in air fryer and cook 5-7 minutes at 400 degrees. If using wild caught salmon, lessen your cook time, but if using farm raised salmon, cook for the full 7 minutes. Remove from air fryer and serve.

Oven directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place salmon filets on a baking sheet and spray the filets with olive oil. Whisk desired amount of cayenne into BBQ Dust and sprinkle spice mix on the salmon to coat. Bake the salmon in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until done through. Remove from oven and serve.