Monday, April 22, 2013

Happy Earth Day and a Quick Yummy Recipe

Spent a lot of time this weekend outdoors taking care of our space. Weeding, tending our flower beds and prepping the garden beds. No pictures of all that fun! 

BUT...

with lots of fruits coming into season just around the corner, I thought it was the perfect time to share a little recipe I make when we have some fruit that is bursting with flavor but not at it's most pretty. Make some compote!

A compote is a recipe consisting of some sort of fruit that has been stewed in a syrup of sugar and some other flavorings added.

I made my first compote when we evacuated to my in-laws house during hurricane Irene. I had quite a bit of fruit and was afraid it would spoil if we lost power and didn't eat it fast enough. So I decided to cook it while we still had power.

I had a half pint of blue berries, a quart of strawberries and a pint of raspberries. I put them in a saucepan, added some water (a cup maybe) and a little sugar. Threw in a few lemon peels. Let it simmer on low.


Stir Occasionally. You cannot walk away from this. If it boils over or burns, you will not be happy! But it is a very quick cook!

Cook it down until it reaches the stage you like. If you like chunky, cook it less, if you like it less chunky, mush it up and cook it longer!


The result is a yummy, fresh fruit deliciousness! YUM!! It keeps very well refrigerated. Can't say exactly how long it keeps, as it tends to disappear in less than a week in my house. 

My daughter loves this on pancakes, french toast, or just by the spoon! My son likes it on corn muffins, which was the way he got it first during Irene. He protested easting it at first but then was slathering it on after I made him take a "thank you" bite! You can swirl it on yogurt, add to ice cream, endless uses!!

A "thank you" bite, is a Thank You to mommy for making it. I don't force him to eat more, just to try it. It has worked and has expanded his diet quite a bit...just in case you fellow mom's have a "challenging" eater too (I hate the word picky....)

Anyway, I know this technically isn't a recipe, BUT it is very handy to have in your pocket.

I have read Americans throw out upward of 20% of the food they buy, which is horrible considering cost of food and how many people are food insecure in this nation and the world. So we are trying to reduce the amount we waste and this is a VERY tasty way to do it. :)

I keep frozen berries in the fridge for when my fresh fruit is ready but I don't have enough of it for a full batch. Just add it in. Helpful tip: Use less water with frozen fruit as they will release more water as they defrost and cook!

You can get fancy and used dried fruits and liquors and add fancier flavorings like vanilla, cinnamon and cloves. 

As an added benefit, your house will smell scrumptious! 

Cook on!

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