Keeping Fruit and Veg Out of the Bin

Following on from the last post about waste fruit and veg, how do you use up yours when it isn't looking quite as perky as it was when you put it in your basket? Then, what about the leftovers from your dinner last night? We've all made the mistake of cooking too much pasta sauce or broccoli; there's no reason why those should find their way into the bin.

You might already have a whole host of tricks up your sleeve for how to prevent your fruit and veg going to waste - do share - but if not, here are a few ideas to get you going:

From the fruit bowl:
Bananas - whizz up a smoothie; peel and freeze to make a banana lolly; bake a banana loaf or muffins; add them to a curry; turn them into a soup (though this last one might sound bizarre, in the Caribbean they make a creamy soup with bananas added to chicken stock and peppers).
Apples - core, stuff with raisins and oven-cook to make baked apple; turn them into an apple sauce to accompany ice cream or savoury dishes; add to a root vegetable soup to give extra sweetness; chop into a pork or chicken casserole along with the veg.
Pears - stew with ginger, cloves and cinnamon; poach and serve with chocolate sauce or vanilla ice cream; roast with chopped butternut squash, onions and sage; make into chutney.
Oranges - peel and freeze segments to act as ice cubes; squeeze for juice; try your hand at making marmalade; make orange sorbet and serve in the skins; don't forget to zest the skin for use in baking.
Berries - blitz into a sauce to serve with ice cream, pancakes or to dip sliced apples or pears into; use with apple to make a crumble; freeze to add to cold drinks; add to muffins; stir through fromage frais with crushed meringue to make a lower fat version of Eton mess.

These are probably the most popular fruits that you'll use, but how would you use up your leftover kiwis, plums or apricots?

From the salad drawer:
Ok, perhaps not the most appealing, but lettuce - add it to a soup or smoothie.
Tomatoes - make into a pasta sauce or salsa; add to casseroles, soups, chili and curries; roast with onions, peppers, courgette and aubergines.
Cucumber - give pickling, raita or tzatziki a go.
Peppers - turn into a soup with tomatoes and chili; make a peperonata sauce to go with pasta; add them to any dish that comes with a sauce; slice and freeze to add to a meal at a later date.
Celery - once it's lost its crunch add to soups and stews or roast with other veg.

Any more ideas?

From the veg basket:
Carrots - make a mash with a combination of other root veg; add to whatever soup takes your fancy; if you have a juicer, there's your answer; the old favourite of carrot cake.
Other root veg - soups, stews and mash all the way.
Cabbage - if soup or cabbage parcels don't appeal, then bubble and squeak might be your best bet.
Broccoli - add the stalks to soups and stews; the florets work well in stir fries, omelets or in pasta dishes; serve with cauliflower and a cheese sauce.
Green beans, mini sweetcorn, mangetout - add them to a stir fry or if in doubt, a soup it is.

From the dinner table:
Tomato-based pasta sauces - the perfect base for soups and stews.
Root veg - dry fry with chopped bacon and serve with some green veg or a salad; alternatively the soup pan is calling again.
Peas and sweetcorn - stir through rice as a side dish or add some protein to make it the main event.
Green veg - similar idea with the bacon as per the root veg, but serve with some carbohydrate for a balanced meal.

Not sure what to do with your dinner table leftovers? You can't go wrong by adding veg to a soup or stew.

Image by jules/stone soup (carrot soup) via Wikimedia Commons