Honeyed & Spiced Dried Fruit Compote; A Tu B'Shvat Seder Sweet & Significant

"My mom is inviting you for a Tu B'Shvat Seder."

I had neither heard nor experienced a Tu B'Shvat Seder while growing up in Israel, until my boyfriend at the time when I was 17, extended the invitation. I was perplexed at the custom as well as his parents' gesture.