grilled fish kebabs with cherry tomatoes, sauteed corn with bacon and scallions, grilled eggplant with yogurt sauce and fresh peach pie

Yesterday we ate what I consider to be the perfect summer dinner.

It all started picking up the produce at Inn the Pines and Nokara Farms. Both of these farm stands are located in north end of St. Catharines at 7th Street exit.

We had Grilled Fish Kebabs with Cherry Tomatoes, Sauteed Corn with Bacon and Scallions and Grilled Eggplant with Yogurt Sauce!

The Grilled Fish Kebabs were a combination of tilapia and salmon. The corn for the Sauteed Corn with Bacon and Scallions was freshly sliced off the cob. I always pass when it comes to eating corn straight off the cob, but I've discovered the pleasure of fresh corn in salads and relishes. I feel like I'm finally able to enjoy summer corn! The Grilled Eggplant with Yogurt Sauce is a somewhat deconstructed baba ganoush with elements of tzatziki. There is quite a bit of this sauce left over so I'm looking forward to veggie dipping off it over the next couple days.

Owen's dinner was a concoction based on a few elements of this meal. I steamed a portion of salmon and tilapia for him and then added the yogurt dressing (yogurt, parsley, lemon and cucumber) to the fish. I know it sounds odd, but it tasted great. The true test was seeing Owen's reaction. I gave him a bite and he absolutely loved it! Combining salmon and tilapia tastes really good. It really brings out a whole different flavour which is quite unexpected but more pleasant than each fish on its own. I'm starting to feel like a baby chef over here.

If that wasn't enough, I also made a summery dessert. This stemmed from trying to deal with all the peaches I blogged about earlier this week. I was quite undecided what to do with them all and found myself unable to work through them fast enough. I also discovered that cooking peaches can sometimes make them taste like canned, which is a complete waste. So I started to stress when I noticed some starting to go bad. I then remembered seeing a recipe for a no-bake Fresh Peach Pie that my mom made when we were kids. I quickly went ahead and made two pies.

Wow, seriously, as simple as this is, it's so great. Because most of the peaches are sliced and uncooked, they taste so fresh (as the recipe name suggests). I have to share this one with you all!

Glazed Fresh Peach Pie (Mom)

4 c sliced peaches
½ c water
¾ c sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp butter
1 baked 9” pie shell

Crush enough peaches to make one cup leaving the rest. Combine 1 c crushed peaches with water, sugar and cornstarch. Bring to a boil. Cook over low heat until clear (2-3 min) stirring constantly. Add butter & cool. Spread sliced peaches into pie shell, then pour cooked mixture over them making sure they are all covered. Chill for 2 hours. Top with whipped cream and serve.

I had a couple tweaks on my pie. I used a store bought graham cracker crust, added lemon (to prevent browning) and a bit of Peach Schnapps (for extra flavour) and deducted the extra liquid from the water measurement. I also pureed the cooked peach mixture for a creamier texture.