Without getting to the farmers’ market or even spending time in the garden, I have abundant organic produce at my doorstep. Our farm’s four elders pour enough hours into their gardens that they can eat from them all year round. Sharing a farm with hard-core farmers, as I do at Joyfield Farm, is true wealth.

My neighbor Arlene has a green thumb and a way with words; we like it when she intentionally pronounces all the consonants in merci beaucoup and hors d’oeuvres (you have to try it now, out loud, for full effect!). 

She also coins her own words and phrases, and one of those has everything to do with my bountiful, unearned harvest. Carrots with long splits or worm-chewed grooves. Onions rotten in one inner layer. Garlic that didn’t cure. Sweet potatoes in need of major trimming. Arlene calls them all “putt,” and even she isn’t sure why.

“There’s some putt carrots for you” is a thrilling announcement. And I put on a podcast or lively music, get out the veggie brush, and in 90 minutes we have roasted root vegetable medley or carrot pie on a nutcrust. The carrots couldn’t taste better.

Putt onions need the browning, wilted layers to be removed and put into the compost. Uncured garlic gets chopped (food processor is easiest) and put in an ice cube tray. Making the most of these treasures that won’t sell well at the farmers’ market is a big perk of living at Joyfield Farm.

About 40% of food is thrown away in the United States, and most of that is before you buy it. Market demands can make it cheaper for farmers to let the food rot in the field than pay someone to harvest and transport it. Plenty of food is thrown away for simple cosmetic reasons. That is ludicrous and consumers are wising up: You can subscribe to food delivery services that specialize in “misfit” or “ugly” produce.

I get it for free, and I hope you have a relationship with a farmer (or your own garden) and get to enjoy free “ugly” feasts, too.

The choicest of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God (Exodus 23:19a).

God asks for “first fruits,” and surely they should be as unblemished as the animals sacrificed by our faith ancestors. But Jesus came along preaching “the first shall be last and the last shall be first,” so it finally dawned on me that God probably loves ugly, putt, picked-last vegetables, too.

Recipe

This is a crowd-pleasing way to use up ugly squash. It’s also great for stale tortilla chips, though fresh are just fine, too.

Easiest squash and tortilla chip casserole

• 1 acorn squash or small butternut squash, peeled and diced
• 1 pint salsa
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups yellow corn tortilla chips, crushed
• 1 medium white onion, finely diced
• 4-5 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 cup grated cheese of your choice, divided
• 1-2 tablespoons chili powder, depending on your spice preference
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients, but reserve a small handful of cheese.
2. Spread ingredients into a shallow casserole dish. Cover with lid or foil and bake for 45 minutes.
3. Remove foil, stir and top with remaining cheese. Bake another 20 minutes or so, until the squash is soft to a fork. If the top starts to brown, take it out of the oven, stir, and put back in. (Don’t try to stir while it’s in the oven – I always think I can, and then I make a mess.)
4. If desired, sprinkle with fresh, chopped cilantro right before serving.

Adapted from VegWeb.com’s vegan version with sweet potatoes. We love it with any orange vegetable.