PALEO SPICE BLENDS AND A GIVEAWAY

Sometimes you just don't feel like being creative. Sometimes I don't feel like coming up with a totally innovative, original recipe of my own. Thank goodness for paleo spice blends. There are hundreds of companies and products out there that are paleo-friendly and I had the chance to sample one. The following recipes are simply rubbed with selected Cajun spice blends from Savory Spice Shop

As social chair of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance, I get to do some pretty cool things. One of them was to round up some prizes for a member's only trivia event at a funky east side joint called Gourmand's. One of the prize packages I collected was a gift set of spice tubes from the darling Savory Spice Shop on west 6th St. Upon picking up the prizes, the owner, Karen, presented me with a really cool blogger opportunity. Basically, I received a sample of this really cool gift set (see photo above) with a variety of Cajun spices. She told me to try it out on some of my recipes and blog about it if I had a good experience. Well, I sure did! Then, if I wanted to extend the offer as a giveaway to one of my readers, she would provide another four-piece gift set for someone else to try! So what do you think? Do you want one?

The first recipe I tried was with cauliflower. I simply tossed the cauliflower in a bowl with some olive oil and then again with some (2 Tbsp) of the Cajun Blackening seasoning. I roasted it at 425º for 15-20 minutes until it was golden brown and crispy. It was awesome. My husband loved it and he hates cauliflower. That was success #1. 

Sucess #2 was a filet of salmon, dried with a paper towel, rubbed with the Black River Creole Seasoning  and sauteed in coconut oil in a cast iron skillet. You know how I feel about my cast iron and coconut oil. The combination of the two makes a beautiful crust on fist. My son loved this, as did I. I mean, really, just look at the picture. It tasted even better that that! 

So, if you are interested in this or one of their other variety gift packages, let me know in the comments below. Be sure you leave me your email address! I'll pick a winner at the end of the week (Friday January 11 at 11:59pm.) Happy New Year!