One thing I appreciate about these French Fridays is the way Dorie’s French take on familiar recipes forces me out of my flavouring habits. Usually, my apple sauce is full of warm apple pie flavours – cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom. This compote de pommes relies on vanilla, instead, to bring out the flavour of the apple.

We’re well into autumn here, so much so that I’m going to have to pull out the rake this weekend and start on the fallen leaves, spreading them over the vegetable garden, once I finish its fall clean up. My flower garden is still going strong, though, especially the dahlias, which are continuing to bloom. Nothing feels urgent outside now. These tasks are simply waiting for me, unlike the weeds of spring and summer, who wait for no one.

Fall and winter cooking doesn’t feel urgent either, the worry that I’m not making the most of something before it’s gone just doesn’t apply to storage fruits and vegetables. The process of cooking slows down, too, with soups and stews and compotes like this one warming the kitchen and the belly.

I made enough of this compote to enjoy of ice cream (or rather, Coconut Bliss) tonight, with lots left over to stir into yogurt tomorrow morning. Next time, I think I’ll make a bigger batch. I haven’t made an applesauce cake in far too long.

You can find many other blogged descriptions of this FFWD recipe here: Compote de Pommes Two Ways