Back to the kitchen, with gusto

So maybe I went a little overboard last night. But I had a brief respite from what I'm now lovingly calling "family month," and I not only missed my kitchen, but I also needed to get cooking while some of my produce was in its prime.

First I made a batch of peach jam since I gave away the entire first batch that I made in July. This time I made half-pint jars, so hopefully the giving will go a little longer.

Then I decided to make up my own entree. After Bryan was talking about a Seattle P-I article about how wonderful bacon is, I decided it would be the perfect addition to the halibut that we got from Bryan's cousin in British Columbia during the first part of "family month."

It's not much of a recipe. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, then heat an iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook for about 5 minutes so the grease coats the bottom. Flip the bacon and move it to one side, place a fillet skin-side down, and top it with half the bacon. Repeat with a second fillet, and cook in oven for about 8 minutes.

We paired it with Bob's Red Mill Polenta and Swiss Chard Gratin from Greg Atkinson's "West Coast Cooking."

And we finished the evening with Peach Cobbler, also from "West Coast Cooking." And no, I didn't get any work done last night. But we sure did eat like kings.