Yesterday, my sister came by with a box of supposedly “ugly” produce from Misfit Markets, which delivers said produce that didn’t make the cut right to your door (in NYC at least.) Up to 20% of produce are thrown away because they aren’t good looking enough for the supermarket and their approach perfectly aligns with my desire to reduce my impact on the world, to sell these otherwise unloveable vegetables at a low cost.

I tried looking up their delivery area, but didn’t see it listed on their site, (edited to add, they show it at checkout NY, PA, NJ, DE, and CT) although they seem to be based in PA. We were both curious as to what counts as “ugly” in the vegetable world, so she brought a portion of the 15lbs she got this last week. I’m pretty familiar with gnarly looking produce only because my garden often vomits up strange looking things (allowing mother nature to control the water and weather gives some decent surprises) so we were both kind of disappointed to find that they weren’t as “ugly” as we thought they’d be. I had totally been hoping to find phallic looking tubers, but alas, no crotch shaped potatoes to be found.

There was something from the brasicaa family that is either a cone shaped cabbage that probably had been toying with the idea of bolting (but you’d be unable to package it in the normal plastic shrink wrap because of the shape) or, if I cut it open later, I might find a cauliflower of some sort. I’m leaning towards cabbage only because I tried unfurling the pointed top and there were only more leaves.

There were some yams that were weirdly shaped, but the reason I suppose they were “ugly” was because it looks like some voles had gnawed at them while they were still in the ground. I pulled up a few Jerusalem artichokes this year with the same telltale nibblings and had been tripping over vole tunnels all year. That doesn’t bother me in the least so I chucked them into my wood burning stove and have smoky, sweet, delicious yams fresh out of the coals.

There was a cucumber that I can’t tell for the life of me why it would be considered ugly, but it’s supposed to be the seedless variety. Perhaps this particular batch did not live up to its name? (Sometimes you get throwbacks like that.) I’ll check in the next few days and report back.

A whole bunch of avocados. Whole bunch. They’re still unripe so I can’t cut them open to check as to their “deformity” but by all accounts they look normal. I have them ripening on the counter.

Also a lot of scallions, for whatever reasons, but they looked fine to me.

Finally, the star of this recipe, some potatoes, possibly of the yukon gold variety. Nothing exceptionally wrong with them except small portions had been tunneled into by some sort of insect, but cutting those parts out was a breeze. 

I was quite impressed with what the box contained for $20 per week as I did some calculations and it’s even cheaper than what I would get at Aldi, for the same items and amounts. It costs about half as much, would save on time and gas for me, and gets my creative juices flowing like some bizarre at home episode of Iron Chef. I decided to sign up for it and will be getting the every two weeks option, since my garden has closed shop for winter’s sleep and I don’t feel like going out in the cold just to purchase fresh produce–my freezer is well stocked with meats so most of my shopping trips involve purchasing dairy for the kids and, in the winter, fresh fruits and vegetables. This would just be a seasonal purchase for me, as once spring hits I’m in a race to use up my garden’s bounty, but it’s still half the year if I’m not doing any growing in cold frames (like this year.)

The only drawback I see might be that in the dead of winter at subfreezing temperatures, some of the produce could be ruined if left out for too long. Sometimes, for frequent travelers, it might be an issue to use up all the items before they leave, or they’d have to find some way to process them for storing. I usually abstain from buying anything the three days leading up to a trip, but we’ll cross that hurdle when we get there.

In any case, I’m very pleased with the items and the quality of the flavor. I tossed this potato salad together with just what I had on hand, and it was absolutely delicious. My sister (who is a chef) polished off whatever I couldn’t fit in the container for the fridge. I grow parsley every year and it’s the last of my annual herb to die out, usually holding strong until temperatures hit single digits. This would be a wonderful dish to bring to a potluck, the flavors bright and bursting.

Ingredients

• 2lb potatoes, cubed, skin on or off
• 5 – 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine, white wine, or champagne vinegar
• 1/2 cup parsley, minced
• 2 sprigs scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

1. Boil the potatoes over high heat until tender, about 10 – 12 minutes.
2. Combine minced garlic, minced parsley, olive oil, vinegar, parsley, scallions, salt, and pepper together in a bowl.
3. Toss hot and tender potatoes in the dressing and either serve immediately or allow to marinate in the fridge.