Cherry almond compote

I got my last batch of black cherries at the farmers' market today. (Sniff.) They have been blowing my mind all summer, and now they're done, giving way to solid peach season, plum season, and apples. And the last batch I got today were pretty sad-looking - very over-ripe. So I decided to mush them up even further and make a compote.

This is a Val original. Get ready, people.

Start with one pint of cherries and remove the pits. Put on the stove top in a small pan and cook on medium heat. (I also sprinkled about a teaspoon or two of vanilla sugar in there, just to bring together the sauce a little bit.)


They sort of look like Kalamata olives, don't they?

Meanwhile, bake 1/4 cup of rolled oats in the stove at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. When the cherries are getting mushy and warm - at about 15 minutes or more - pour them into a bowl, sprinkle the toasted oats, and top with chopped almonds. (I used the cocoa roasted almonds from Emerald.)


Dave also suggested topping this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which we did. Mmm! This is a different type of dessert, for sure - lately, my desserts have been either ice cream or raw fruit. (Or beet cake.) This was really nice; maybe I'll freeze some cherries so we can enjoy this nice, warm dessert in winter when it would be even better!