While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

Get caught up in the mix - March 1 is National Fruit Compote Day!

Originally made during the 1600s in France, compote (the French word for "mixture") combined pieces of fruit, or the whole thing, with simple syrup. While the fruit cooks over gentle heat, spices and flavorings like vanilla, orange peel, cinnamon, cloves, coconut or candied fruit are added to the mix.

This classy dessert is a great way to get in a fruit serving. It can be served warm or even chilled in a giant bowl. This stuff is so good, you'll want to eat it without ornamentation, although whipped cream is a choice topping.

You can also dish up compote as a topping or base itself for tarts, pastries, breakfast items and other desserts. In this case, you'll want to purée the fruit so it's more like a concentrated jam.

Put your winter fruit to use in a baked compote that is sure to warm you from the inside out. Serve it with ice cream and you'll ward of the winter chill while enjoying this sweet, flavorful medley.