The answer to that question is two-part.
1) I have a plan to use or freeze it right away (same day or within 2 days)
2) I understand how best to store it until it's consumed
I stopped in at the produce stand around the corner from my daughters' school yesterday. I needed fresh fruit for lunches, and mushrooms plus another veggie to add to stir-fry for dinner. I always check the markdown bins first. This is a completely open-air produce stand. They don't have refrigeration on site and produce needs to be sold promptly. Which means good fortune for bargain hunters, as they fill the markdown bins a couple of times per day. Woohoo!
Just look at these cantaloupes! Aren't they beautiful? They had a shopping cart full of cantaloupes marked at 25 to 50 cents each (I bought the 25-centers). These cantaloupes weighed in at about 1 & 1/3 pounds a piece, for a price per pound of around 18 cents. Found my fruit for lunches!
And as luck would have it, they had one bag (1/3 pound) of fresh mushrooms for 59 cents. Got that! And a good-sized bag (2 lbs) of cauliflower florets for 99 cents. Done with my shopping!
The cantaloupe was a great price. And I could have bought several more. But I decided to just buy what we could eat in about 3 days, which I guessed was 4 melons.
Melons this close to expiring need prompt attention. No leaving on the counter for a few days with these. Once home, I washed, sliced and trimmed the rind off the cantaloupes. As you can see, all this melon overfilled the bowl.
Some we had with dinner last night. I also cubed several slices for packing in today's lunches. The rest will keep nicely, covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. This cantaloupe will be our main fruit for the weekend, making part of weekend meal prep a bit easier.
With the mushrooms, as they don't like moisture, I spread them out on a tea towel, while waiting to slice and cook them. And I picked through the cauliflower florets, to use the oldest-looking pieces first in last night's stir-fry. The rest will be cooked and pureed as part of tonight's dinner (used as a topping for Shepherd's Pie -- thanks Shara for the idea).
Yesterday's great finds at the produce stand will be history by the end of the weekend, with hopefully, no waste whatsoever!
