Some ideas to avoid food going “off” before you can eat it:
Vegetables.
Head of celery. Cut a very fine disc off the bottom, trying to avoid the stalks detaching. Place upright with the cut end in about an inch of water in the fridge. Replace the water from time to time and it will keep for a month.
Purple sprouting broccoli. Often these stalks, leaves and broccoli heads arrive looking very limp. Cut off half to one inch of each stalk and stand in a container with those cut ends in about an inch of water in the fridge. By the next day, the stalks will be firm and crisp again, lasting a week or so.
Broccoli and cauliflower. The same applies. Just treat them rather like the flowers they are.
Other vegetables. Peeled carrots and potatoes and trimmed French beans all perk up if just covered in water and left in the fridge overnight.
Cooked potatoes including chips. make a frittata
Cooked roast potatoes. Reheat in the microwave and re-crisp in the oven for 5 minutes.
Fruit.
End-of -week fruit. Apples, pears, bananas, oranges and more can be turned into a delicious baked fruit salad.
Lemons and oranges. use or freeze the zest, the juice and even the juiced halves can be frozen and added like a flavoursome ice-cube to a jug or glass of water.
Meat.
Scraps of ham or other cold meats. Finely chop the meat, put in a small Buttered individual bowl or ramekin , crack in a whole egg and a little salt and pepper. Top with a teaspoonful of cream and bake in the oven 180C, Gas 4 for 12 minutes.
Bread.
Dry the bread overnight and make into breadcrumbs to freeze for:
Chicken nuggets. Beat out a chicken breast and cut into pieces. Dip each piece into well-seasoned flour then beaten egg and then the breadcrumbs. Fry the pieces on each side until golden brown.
Scotch eggs. For oven-baked rather than deep-fat fried
Have you got your own tips and ideas to share?