KARM Kitchen & Recipes

As most you know, we donate some of our produce to five local food pantries. Though I’ve been working with Beardsley for nearly four months now, I’m still learning about our partner donation sites. As a way to show you who we are connected with and their work, I’m starting a blog series about our donation sites. I will be interviewing a representative from each site to learn about how they are impacting our Knoxville community.

I started my journalistic journey at KARM, Knoxville Area Rescue Ministries, which is a homeless shelter located on North Broadway. KARM provides shelter, meals and rehabilitation services for Knoxville’s homeless population. I met with the Kitchen Manager, Charmin Glenn and her director, Tracy Hicks.  As we walked up to Tracy’s office, Charmin offered me a glass of her fresh-squeezed lemonade. One sip in and I was already learning how much I liked this place.

Charmin, I learned, has been working with KARM for one year, but she has been affiliated with KARM for four years. Prior to her position as Kitchen Manager, Charmin was a client at KARM. She completed the Abundant Life Culinary Arts program, which offers its participants 12 weeks of culinary instructions and job skills, along with the opportunity to be Safe-Serve Certified. Following the 12 week program, students are placed in an internship in various food service places across Knoxville. KARM also helps place students in jobs. They’ve had nine total classes come through this program, with 35 people completing their internships and 21 obtaining employment.

Charmin has many hours of experience cooking for large groups of people. I learned that she and her two staff serve about 1,350 meals per day. She made it clear that budgeting is very important for her , so that she is a good steward of her resources. By doing this, she doesn’t waste as much food.

But how does she cook to feed that many people each day? Lots of soups and casseroles, she said. These dishes make it easier to provide lots of nutrients, making it a healthy meal, not simply a meal. Charmin explained to me that she’d had experience growing vegetables and herbs, so she understood their value. She had on a big smile as she pointed me to look out the window at her thriving basil plant , which she loves to cook with. Charmin offered wit and charm in our conversation making it easy to see why her director, Tracy, loves working with her. Check out some of Charmin’s favorite recipes below.

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CABBAGE AND RED KIDNEY BEAN SOUP

Cabbage fresh, one head shredded fine

1 lb of ground beef

beans, red kidney,4 cups

1 can of dice tomatoes (14 1/2 ounce)

onions,raw,I slice (1/4 inch thick)

Garlic 3 cloves

one teaspoon of thyme

1/8 teaspoon blackpepper

2 cans of beef broth

salt,1 tsp

extra light olive oil

1 bay leaf

Cook beef over medium heat until its crumbly.Add beef broth,tomatoes,onion,thyme,pepper,and bay leafBring to a boil over heat;cover and simmer for about 15 minutesAdd cabbage and beans,turn heat up to high and bring to a boil.Cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutesRemove bay leaf and serve

Serving of 6

TOMATO AND BASIL QUICHE

1 onion diced

2 tomatoes, diced

2 tablespoons of flour

3 eggs beaten

fresh basil chopped 4 leaves

1/2 cup of milk

1  9 inch pie crust

1 1/2 cups of shredded colby-monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Bake pie crust for 8 minutesHeat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions until soft; remove from skillet. Sprinkle tomatoes with flour and basil, than sauté one minute on each side. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and eggs.Spread cheese in the bottom of pie crust. Layer onions over cheese, and top with tomatoes. Cover with egg mixture. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese.Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.

Serves 6

FRESH FRUIT SALAD WITH HONEY -YOGURT DRESSING

1 cup of low fat vanilla yogurt

2 tablespoons of honey

1/2 ground cinnamon

2 large seedless oranges,peeled,sliced and halved

1/2 large pineapple,peeled,cored,sliced and cut in hedges

1 granny smith apple, cored and diced

1 ripe pear, cored and Juliette

1 kiwi peeled and sliced

In a small bowl, combined the yogurt, honey and cinnamon.stir well to blend ingredients.Arrange fruit on plates and drizzle the honey-yogurt dressing on top.

Serves 6

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