Mixed Fruit Compote

I made this tasty compote from some fruit that I had laying around that needed to be used up. I had some Asian pear from my CSA share that never really cut it for me, so I decided to combine them with some other stuff and cook the hell out of them. Good choice.

Since I usually don't have maple syrup sitting around the house, I usually whip up a compote when I make pancakes. Normally it's just an apple, some sugar, water, and a dash of spice. This compote was a little fancier then usual, and it was really good. Not too sweet, and packed with flavor.

Mixed Fruit Compote

1 cup water
1/4 cup raw sugar
1/4 vanilla bean, split in half (I used one that I brought back from Bali)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/16 teaspoon ground cloves (a big pinch)
1/16 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
2 apples, finely chopped (I always leave the peels on, but you can peel them if you wish)
2 Asian pears, finely chopped
1 cup chopped strawberries
1/2 cup golden raisins

Combine the water, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Bring to a boil. Add the fruit when the liquid starts to thicken. Simmer on medium heat for one half hour.

Enjoy!

I served this with some vegan cornmeal pancakes. Usually they are really tasty, but I am never sure which recipe I use as a base for my version, so these were not as good as they usually are. When I perfect my recipe, I will post it here.