Don't toss that squishy fruit, make compote!

Yes, I'm posting again about the joys of making and eating compote.

With the abundance of delicious fruit this season, sometimes I get a little too carried away at the Farmers' Market and buy too much fruit.

That means that we sometimes can't eat the fruit fast enough before they get a little too squishy to enjoy fresh.

So we just set aside the fruit in the fridge that we will cook in compote.

No, we don't keep fruit that already has mold on it. That goes into the compost bin.

The best fruit for compote are stone fruit such as peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines. I also use berries such as strawberries. Combining stone fruit and berries makes a lovely compote.

Ready in the pot above are some apricots that I just halved, and slices of plums that I picked last year from a tree in the driveway of our previous home and kept in the freezer in freezer bags.

I simply put the fruit in a stainless steel pot, added a cinnamon stick, about 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1/3 cup of wine (red or rose are best for this) and enough water to cover the fruit.

Bring the fruit to a boil then simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes to 1/2 hour. By then the fruit will have cooked down, but not mushy. Turn the heat off and let cool.

You can eat it at room temperature, but I prefer to transfer the cooked fruit in the liquid to a glass container with lid and store in the refrigerator, then eat it cold for dessert.

It's delicious cold!