Help with food spoilage

[MrsMike]

Let me preface this by saying I am a complete moron. I suck in the kitchen and don't have the best knowledge about food.

On Friday, dh and I went to our local farm market and bought a big load of veggies and some fruit. We came home and I asked dh to put the food away as ds needed me. Well, he put half of it away. It turns out that he left a bag full of veggies and fruit on the dining table chair. I didn't notice until this morning as he pushed the chair under the table and it was covered by our tablecloth. We have barely been home at all since Friday evening, haven't eaten at home so I didn't notice the bag until this afternoon while cleaning. The bag contained 2 cantaloupes, 2 squash, a tomato, 2 peppers, an apple, an onion and a zucchini. One pepper was totally dead so I threw it in the compost. The two cantaloupes had fuzz growing in a few spots. The rest of the food was soft but without any fuzz or mold spots.

I know some people just cut little spots off veggies or fruit and eat the rest. But, I don't know what's safe. I cut the lopes in half. They were a little watery in the center and each one had a spot on the inside that was white. I cut that off and sliced the rest, jarred it and put it in the fridge. I'm not eating it unless I know it's ok. What would you do? Would you throw it all away?

The zucchini and squash were soft, but didn't have any spots or mold. What should I do for them? Should I cook them? Freeze them (don't know how, but I can learn) or compost them? Same with the tomato. It was soft, but didn't have any spots or mold.

I am SO mad at myself for not noticing the bag was there. And I'm ticked at dh. I'm ashamed for wasting food. It'll get composted and sent back to the earth, but that doesn't make me feel any better. Any tips or advice about the food would be great.

[gardenmommy]

The squash is probably fine. I would just cook it up like normal. The tomato is probably fine, I never put mine in the fridge. I don't refrigerate apples or onions, either, so IMO, those are likely just fine. Cantaloupe, I would go more by smell. I don't like those, because I think they smell rotten anyway. I am not the best judge of that! I hear you on feeling badly for throwing out food, but you know, stuff happens. Don't beat yourself up over it, just try to do better next time.

[ursusarctos]

For the canteloupe, I would taste it and see. If it tastes "off" then I wouldn't eat it, but if it's just a little ripe or soft tasting then it's probably fine. Many people keep melons outside the fridge anyway.
The zucchini and squash I would just use asap. Think of them as very ripe and needing to be eaten immediately. Same with the tomato.
As long as there is no mold and it's not mushy/rotten you don't have to worry, just treat it as very ripe. You can always taste a little bit too and see if it tastes weird or not.
Personally I will cut off a moldy spot and eat the rest if the rest is firm and seems good still. If the rest seems kind of sad and soft though then I'll probably toss the whole thing.