Uses for not-so-fresh foods

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I was making guacamole earlier with a way-ripe avocado (fine for guacamole, would've been kind of gross plain) and was thinking about what other recipes are good with food that's past it's sell-by date.

I thought of banana bread (overripe bananas) and stuffing (stale bread), I'm sure there is a lot more.

It's one of those cooking things that used to be standard and has been somewhat lost, I think -- what to do with stuff that would otherwise need to be thrown out.

Probably a lot of this would be better with the fresh versions, but any other ideas for what to do with food that's seen better days but isn't completely disgusting yet?

P.S. Boomer, what title would you give this? I thought about "Pease Porridge in the Pot, Nine Days Old" but it's really more about the raw ingredients, not something already prepared. Then I thought of "That not-so-fresh feeling" but in context, that's just kinda gross. Confused

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Veggies that have lost their crispness and visual appeal generally work out fine for soups, stews, purees, and sauces. Ya prolly wanna use 'em before they establish a micro-ecology of their own, though Mr. Green

And of course, lotsa stuff we'd balk at eating equates to a royal treat for a dog Laughing

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I am bad about not so fresh ingredients..... I tend to toss them.

Old apples for apple pie and apple sauce.
Old vegies in vegie soup.
Stale bread is also good as french toast.
old berries can be simmered with sugar to make a compote.

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oh, and soft fruit freezes well for smoothies, too.

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speaking of freezing, with over ripe fruit I squeeze all the juice out into ice trays to put into drinks.
With vege's I agree with the stews or some sort of cheese bake

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I was going to say stale bread makes good french toast, but littlek beat me to it.

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yum my fav 'French Toast'....with stale rolls I turn into garlic bread and freeze....geeesh Im beginning to sound like my mother

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Not so sure about past their prime, but leftover mashed potatoes make gread potatoe patties. I think Jes adds something like egg to bind them better, and a few spices.

We used to always bake a couple of extra potatoes, in case someone wanted more. Any leftovers became twice baked potatoes, usually called stuffed potatoes now days.

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Yeh. There is some mashed potato pattie thingie I used to get at Tomo Deli... had some curry flavor. Cheap and wonderful.

On stale bread.. just right for the cheese souffle in the old Joy of Cooking cookbook. One of those never fail things. Sorry, cookbook packed away, but the recipe is pretty easy. Only hard part is that you separate the eggs and whip the whites til stiff.

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...or an omelette for breaky for the old mushrooms, spring onions and tomato's

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If anyone chases down the joy of cooking cheese souffle, it's not the main one... just some easy alternative one that involves bread...

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Spring onions. Sounds much better than "little green onions".

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my friend used to make this yummy cheese and spinach dish that she used to cook in a hollowed out round loaf of bread (in the oven) she lost the recipe.....

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hollowed out RC?

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oops, sorry, my reading of rc was an artifact of my new use of my new computer. Funny idea though.

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old fruits, like grapes and strawberries

can be froze and dropped into your water as decorative ice cubes.
As they thaw, they add a bit of sweetness to your water.

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Ha!

I probably would have called this thread "How I get Mr. B to take me out to dinner".

Seriously though I love grocery shopping so I only keep a few days supply of fresh around. If and when something gets overlooked I make chutney.

You can really use any kind of fruit or vegetable or mix the two. Tomato, apples, mangos, onion, celery, corn... whatever -- chop it up and toss in some olive oil and basalmic vinegar. Yummy!

Uses for not-so-fresh foods

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