BY SYBILLE C. DENNINGER

Hello and happy (I know, that's questionable) Monday, Everyone :-)

        You may have noticed that I like to mix it up and not only post real estate related things on our Daily Tidbits Blog. I pretty much fly by the ample seat of my pants and blog about whatever comes to mind. It could be anything, like a loose canon, but no worries, it will be nothing even close to Fifty Shades of Grey haha. I also like to eat so here's another recipe, one I literally dug up in the car after I ended up getting halibut fillet on my weekly fish run at Steve Connolly Seafood Co.      The problem with being a moderately talented cook is that you are kind of set in your ways and have a few recipes in your repertoire which you know you won't mess up. I did not have one for halibut but we already ate tuna last week and the swordfish steaks on display had too much dark meat on them. I'm weird like that! The halibut fillet looked divine but messing up a $20 piece of fish without chefly guidance was not an option. What the heck did we all do before smartphones and ipads? As soon as my seafood bag had disappeared into the trunk I was hitting the minuscule buttons on my cell and searched for "hslibut revipw". Yes, this is what always happens and Google is used to it. I found lots and was afraid to tie up the parking space for too long as Friday is Fishday for many Cape Ann residents. So I quickly settled on Halibut Provencale because most of its ingredients were already present in my kitchen, which I suspected because I ordered Haddock Provencale once in a restaurant.

Well, it was really delicious and easy to make, so I am happy to pass it along. Bon Appetit!

Halibut Provencale

Serve with rice and salad

1 pound halibut fillet (I worked with 1 piece, but halfing it first might make it easier to flip, hindsight is 20/20)

3 TBS olive oil

1 small Vidalia onion, chopped (I buy packaged chopped onions)

2 gloves of garlic, minced (I use frozen cubes)

Herbs de Provence spice (a mix of rosemary, thyme, sage and basil). I used that but the recipe actually calls for just salt

1/2 tsp salt

Fresh ground black pepper

2 cups diced, canned tomatoes, drained (I bought an organic brand called Glen Muir at Market Basket)

1/4 cup sliced black olives (they have little cans with already sliced ones for lazy cooks)

(I omitted the 1/4 cup of capers but you are welcome to use them if you must)

Sprinkle the halibut fillet on both sides with Herbs de Provence (don't be shy, it's a great flavor)

Heat 2 TBS olive oil in non-stick pan and saute the halibut fillet until it is nicely browned and flaky

Remove the fish from the pan and add the other TBS of olive oil

Add onions and garlic, cook stirring frequently until the onions look glassy

Add the tomatoes, olives, salt and pepper

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add the fish back in

Simmer for 8 minutes, spooning sauce over the fillet a few times

Voila, you are ready to eat!