Addie's growing right through her three-month-sized clothes--and has the appetite to match. This means I am feeding, burping, and consoling her for the greater parts of my days. But she slept through a whole night for the first time on Saturday (!), and her smiles keep getting wider and wider.
There's no better way to repay a tired mama than with sleep and big grins.
I prepared the food for my first-ever styled shoot that was photographed by my lovely friend Brooke at Brooke Schultz Photography. With a baby strapped to my front, I spent all of Monday over my hot stove (did I mention that it was already 97 degrees in my house without the oven being on?), chopping fruit, flipping pancakes, and stirring granola.
Brooke and Calie (Calie Rose Floral & Event Design) had set up an incredible breakfast spread with copper-handled forks, coral-colored napkins, and brown-paper menus. Though I was
Lesson learned: A lot more planning goes into a styled shoot than my everyday snapshots of breakfast.
Just because I can write a term paper in a day doesn't mean I should write it in a day.
You know?
Next time I'll choose food that can be made ahead of time (i.e., not pancakes or donut holes),
actually make dinner for my husband before leaving for the evening,
experiment with table arrangements beforehand,
and get someone to help me make the food.
Or watch my baby.
Now, two days later, my counters are finally free of flour and cinnamon sugar, the stove is finally devoid of spilled oil, and my sink is finally clear of fruit-stained knives and sticky pots.
And so, as I sit in my pajamas with a jammied baby girl on my lap, I bring you an easy, easy little compote recipe for mornings when you just need to take it slow.
If you buy rhubarb from the store, chances are good that your compote will turn out to be a lovely rose color. The rhubarb in our garden is more dainty and didn't completely turn red before we picked it.
So my compote was green tinged with brown.
Still tasted great.
I like to preserve rhubarb's natural tartness when I cook with it, so this recipe uses just a touch of natural sweetener. If you like it sweeter, you can use 1/2 cup of sugar for every 3 cups of diced rhubarb.
I love stirring this compote into my morning yogurt topped with granola. It would also be great atop whole-wheat waffles, pancakes, or even toast.
What's your favorite way to use rhubarb?
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| Photo via Instagram. Follow me: @clairedannals. |
Vanilla Rhubarb Compote
rhubarb, diced like you would celery (I used about 3 cups*)
drizzle of honey or agave
dash of pure vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Stirring constantly, cook on medium heat for about eight minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft and has the consistency of jam.
Keep in an airtight container. Stores well in the fridge for a week or two.
*3 cups of diced rhubarb makes about 1 cup of compote.