In an age when Starbucks has permeated even Beijing's Forbidden City, it's fresh to see a cafe named for the trolley line that passes right outside its doors. The Green Line Cafe, though, offers more than just coffee and cupcakes - it offers organic, fair-trade coffee and vegan, whole-wheat cupcakes.
Opened in the fall of 2001, the cafe now has three locations, including one on Baltimore avenue and 43rd street managed by David Witmer. Once a vegetarian, Witmer is now a self-dubbed "flexitarian," and a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Yet Witmer is familiar with more than just his hometown.
"We're all very much global people," said Witmer, referring to the his and his two brothers, who are also Green Line partners. They witnessed working conditions while traveling to Central American coffee plantations, which inspired the cafe's mission "to make our business model promote sustainable global economics." Green Line Cafe is a place where coffee is donated to local flea markets and Coca-Cola is bypassed in favor of a small, "micro-brew" company in Delaware.
But here's something that you won't find at Green line - straight from Witmer's kitchen.
RED LENTIL
COCONUT CURRY
1 large onion (minced)
1 tbsp. garlic (minced)
1 tbsp. ginger root (peeled and minced)
2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. each of ground turmeric, ground cumin and pepper
1/4 tsp. each of ground red pepper and ground cinnamon
2-3 bay leaves
13.5 oz. coconut milk
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
1 cup tomato sauce
2 cups dried-red lentils (rinsed)
5 cups water
1 medium head of cauliflower (in 1 1/2-inch florets)
1 large sweet potato (peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes)
1/4 head cabbage (in 1 1/2-inch chunks)
1-2 cups peas (optional)
If time allows, put coconut milk in freezer for about 20 minutes and use solidified coconut butter for sauteing. Saute onion in coconut butter or a tbsp. of olive oil in medium heat until onion is transparent but not brown. Add garlic, ginger root, curry powder, turmeric, ground cumin, pepper, red pepper, cinnamon and bay leaves. Reduce heat to medium low. Cook and stir constantly for three minutes without allowing spices and onion to brown. Add coconut milk, soy sauce and tomato sauce. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring often. While simmering, cook lentils in a saucepan for 15 minutes. Add lentils and water to soup pot. While waiting for sauce and lentils to finish, cut sweet potato, cabbage and peas.
Add vegetables to soup pot and cook over medium heat until tender. Put peas in last after other vegetables are tender. Serve over rice.
