Fort Wayne – This October will mark the third year for Harvest of Talents at Taylor Chapel United Methodist Church. According to the event’s coordinator, Ann Serrani, the idea originated from a former member.

“It was a passion of a former member of the congregation. Instead of all these other bazaars and pie sales, it was pulled all together into one event. The mission was always to do what that Scripture (1 Peter 4:10) says,” Serrani says pointing to a pamphlet announcing the event.

In addition to offering crafts, church members also donate items for an auction that takes place in the Family Life Center of the church.

“The reason we don’t call it a bazaar is because it’s a not-for-profit event. Absolutely every penny we get goes to missions – locally, globally and national. Locally – Turnstone, Fort Wayne Rescue Mission and Erin’s House. Globally, one of the biggest ones is Friends for Life in Kenya. Internationally, we send the money to UMCOR, the charity component of the United Methodist Church. We send money to them for disaster relief, which means it could go to any state, as we know,” Serrani says.

Besides the many handcrafted items, soup and mincemeat are part of the marketplace items. The person in charge of making and canning those is Barb Eager. She has about 12 to 15 people helping her at different times.

“Each day we can, we work from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” Eager says.

This year, she believes she’ll have about 175 quarts of vegetable soup and close to 40 quarts of mincemeat for the event.

Serrani says Eager starts getting ready for the event in September.

“Barb just sets out a display with little papers on it with what she needs to make the soup. People pick one up and then donate (that item). For her mincemeat this year, she went to (Meijer) and they helped.”

Serrani says that Eager was able to buy the meat at a great price.

“We’ve grown every year, so we have to be careful that we don’t get prideful,” Serrani says. “It’s not how much (money) we make, but the fact that anything we make is a gift from God.”

Vegetable Soup

1 1/2 gallons beef broth or beef soup base

2 gallons tomato juice (Eager uses half tomato and half V8 juice)

5 pounds potatoes, diced

1 pound carrots, diced

2 quarts corn

2 quarts green beans

2 quarts diced tomatoes

1 pint peas

1 pint baby lima beans

3 medium sweet onions

1 medium head cabbage, chopped

3 green peppers

Season with pepper, parsley, marjoram, basil, garlic, bay leaf taste, to taste

Cook for 2 hours or until potatoes are tender. Remove bay leaf. Serve immediately. The soup can be canned or frozen. Makes 100 servings.

Peach Cream Pie

1 unbaked pie crust in 9-inch pie plate

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

6 cups fresh peaches, sliced

Mix all ingredients, except peaches, in large bowl until smooth. Fold in peach slices until well coated. Turn into pie plate. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm or cold. Refrigerate leftovers. Makes 6 to 8 servings.