Imagination: Your Gateway to Produce Fun
No matter your age, you’ve probably heard The Temptations song that begins, “Well, it was just my imagination running away with me…” That’s exactly where our produce altar ideas for the Ecological Farming Conference begin each year.
I pitch an idea to my amazing team, and they respond with, “I love it,” “Maybe,” or “Tell us more about what you’re envisioning.” We toss ideas around, imagining what it could look like and how it might work. Once we agree on a concept and outline the produce we want to use, it’s time to put our imagination to the test.
We discuss which produce items will work best, which will hold up for four days, and how we will ensure everything stays intact. Then we begin prototyping with real produce—sculpting, drying, baking, dyeing, gluing, wiring, and experimenting to see what will succeed. As they have for the past several years, Melissa’s generously provided produce for both prototyping and the finished designs for the 2026 conference.
This year’s theme was “hanging out the laundry,” and Melissa’s made sure we had plenty of corn husks, banana leaves, and nopales for the laundry displayed on our backyard clothesline scene.
Two days before the conference, we begin bringing our vision into the real world.
Susan had already dyed corn husks with beets to create a dress and bloomers. As we assembled the scene, she molded, shaped, and glued red cabbage and lacinato kale into a shirt and blouse fit for Fashion Week, lingering over the finishing touches to make sure they would shine among the other produce “clothes” on the line. Then she moved on to banana leaf shorts, pants, and even banana socks.
Lauren crafted a cat from cauliflower before turning her attention to two different bird species: one made from eggplant with tomatillo-skin wings, and another brought to life from purple radishes adorned with safflower petals.
So many imaginative ideas and unique details go into the final creation. The dining room and kitchen are always filled with giggles, smiles, and pure joy as we work.
This year’s altar was met with reactions like, “Wow, that’s amazing,” “Where do you get these ideas?” and “I can’t believe what you’ve created. A cauliflower cat, so cute!”
Each year, the leftover produce and materials are given away, donated, or composted to ensure they are put to good use. This year, the altar took on an additional life when the owner of Happy Girl Kitchen in Pacific Grove, California, asked if she could use our creations in a photo booth for a fundraiser to purchase their building the following day. We happily agreed, and it was a huge success.
Produce brings pleasure through flavor, inspires memorable meals, and sometimes, with a little imagination, becomes something far beyond what we ever imagined.
