Following on from the soggy apples earlier in the month, I have some VERY brown bananas sat on my kitchen counter at the moment.

I bought them a few weeks ago to make a loaf of banana bread for my friend’s birthday but they were under-ripe when I bought them and my banana bread always works best with slightly over-ripe ‘nanas (great for using them up once they’re just past eating-raw best) so I left them to ripen. Then I didn’t end up seeing my friend when I thought I would and got distracted by the billion other things going on in my life at the moment and so the banana bread never got made.

I think they’re past the eating point now – even in bread form – but I’m still keen to use them. Like with the apples, I know they can be mixed with honey & oatmeal to make a facemask, or with cream (or yoghurt) & a little honey to make a hair conditioner.

But any other suggestions what I can do with the remaining couple once I’m pampered to oblivion? And any natty suggestions for using the peels?

(Photo by pzado – mine are considerably browner than these!)

We’ve had an email from Katie Beedham, saying:

I found some old apples at the back of my fridge today. They haven’t gone off, but they’re not crunchy enough to eat raw. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas what I can use slightly soft apples for?

My immediate thought was “apple pie?” but I know nothing of the way of the fruit since I don’t partake and for all I know you might need really fresh apples for that.

As for non-culinary uses, if you have oily skin, you can use apples to make a facemask: most guides, like this one suggest mixing some grated apple with honey, and maybe a little oatmeal for a bit of exfoliation, then slapping it on your face for ten minutes or so, then rinse it off with cool water.

I also have a feeling they’re useful for making some sort of metal sparkly clean but the computer manufacturer is hogging all searches – anyone know if they can be used for household cleaning?

And what about other suggestions?

(Photo by darotyka)

We went out for a Mexican meal the other day (mmm, mexican food) and while eating a giant pile of guacamole (mmm, guacamole), we had one of those wonderings about what must happen to the many, many leftover avocado stones. From that, our wonderings went onto other fruit stones – what could we do with plum stones, or peach pits?

They could be planted to grow a new fruit plant (although trees from seeds don’t tend to be that productive) or composted (they’d take a good while to break down) but aside from that, are there any fun ways to use them? What do you use fruit stones and pits for?

Avocado stones are usually beautifully smooth so could they be made into (GIANT) beads? Any other suggestions?
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(Sorry for the missing post yesterday – our internet connection died. Boo.)

Anyway, orange peel. I know large quantities are bad for compost heaps and wormeries because the worms don’t tend to be fond of it (particularly when it’s fresh) but it’s such a shame to just throw it away.

Any suggestions for it or related peelings?

(Photo by canoncan)