Wild Berry Compote

Wild Berry Compote
one large  bag frozen berry blend ~ 1 kg (I used a four berry mix containing strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
water
2 cinnamon sticks or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
water
1 Tablespoon cornstarch, if needed
1 Tablespoon sugar of choice, if needed
drop vanilla extract
drop almond extract

Place the berries in a medium saucepan and just cover them with water. Add the spiced. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for an hour or so until berries are softened and mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally. This is one of those leave-on-the-stove-and-forget-about-it recipes, as long as it is at a low simmer.
If mixture does not become as thick as you would like it, or you are short on time, mix the cornstarch and sugar together and add, brining the mixture to a boil and stirring until it is as thick as you need it to be. Remove from heat and stir in the extract. Use warm or chill to set.

This is an easy and versatile recipe. It would probably work with any fruit blend, as long as the fruit is chopped up. Change the spices and extracts as desired. It makes a great warm sauce, pie filling, custard topping, yogurt stir-in, shortcake topper, etc.