leftover fruit salad

keeping more fresh fruit in the house means keeping up with eating it before it spoils.  i HATE throwing food away so i'm always trying to think of new ways to use up those last few pieces.  over ripe bananas go straight into the freezer for that magical day i decide to bake (obviously not all that often), and the husband loves to experiment with different fruit on the grill - we've had apples, peaches, pineapple, and kiwi so far, with overwhelming approval all around.

buy my favourite standby to deal with leftover bits of fruit is to whip up a fruit salad for breakfast.  i love fruit salad - you can put anything in it and it tastes great!  here's the one i made this morning:

Leftover Fruit Salad - serves 3-4
prep time: 5-10 mins

1 apple, cored and cut into bite sized pieces
1 orange, peeled and cut
1 banana, sliced
1 sad little severely over-ripe peach
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
1/3 cup (or less) almond slices
1 inch (or less) grated fresh ginger root

cut the fruit into a medium sized bowl (tip: to prevent browning, cut the juicy fruits first and then mix the apples and bananas into them).  stir in frozen blueberries.  grate ginger root over top and mix well.  garnish with almond slices (which i can't believe i forgot this morning!)

this is a great way to use up whatever leftover fruit you have - melons, grapes, berries, etc.  i keep a bag of frozen blueberries in the freezer for this very purpose (freeze your own when they're in season and reasonably priced).  you can also add canned fruit for a more juicy salad, but be careful of the added sugar.  you can add any kind of nut you like, raisins, dates, etc. - anything that suits your fancy!  the grated ginger is the real seller for me - it adds a fantastic little zip, even better if you let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so before serving.  YUM!

BUDGET TIP - FRESH GINGER:  if you like the flavour of ginger, start buying and experimenting with fresh ginger root (it packs more of a punch than powdered ginger).  cut and peel a small section and then slice, mince, or grate it to add to recipes.  i buy the tiniest piece i can find, which routinely costs me about $0.28, and grate it into salads, stir fries, and soups.  ginger tea (sliced ginger root boiled in water) is supposedly good for digestion.  or add lemon and honey to fresh ginger tea for a homemade cold remedy.  cheap and versatile, that's what we like!

what do you do with over-ripe fruit?  any other good ginger tips or ideas out there?