It’s my birthday today! Are you guys big on celebrating your birthday? For as long as I remember, my birthday has been an obsession of mine. It’s probably just a bit (okay, a lot) egotistical, but I just love the idea of a day celebrating me. I like planning elaborate themed parties with tons of friends (DIY grilled cheese party anyone?), but I also love the flip side of that – spending a day celebrating, just me and my boo.
No matter what I end up doing, there is one absolute must: eat ALL the things. It’s the one day you shouldn’t hold back. I know, I know, veggie sandwiches aren’t what one usually thinks of when they’re thinking about birthday eats, but when I saw this glorious picture of the ultimate veggie sandwich on Instagram, it had to be mine. I’m all about veggie sandwiches (and pizzas too, to be honest). I love the the different textures, the crunch, and the freshness.
This sandwich was truly epic – perfect for a pre-birthday treat!
The Ultimate Veggie Sandwich Recipe
makes 1 sandwich
- 2 slices bread of choice (I used multigrain)
- mayo and mustard, to taste
- 6 leaves romaine lettuce
- 1 small carrot
- 1/2 small cucumber
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/8 head red cabbage
- 1 avocado
- handful of sprouts
- 3 slices tomato
- thin slices red onion
Start off by prepping your vegetables. Trip the lettuce leaves to the size of your bread. Julienne or shred the carrot, thinly slice the cucumber and cabbage. Pit and peel the avocado and thickly slice. Toast the bread and let cool (so it doesn’t get soggy). Spread on mayo and mustard to taste and build your sandwich: 1/2 of the lettuce leaves, carrots, cucumber, salt and pepper, cabbage, avocado, sprouts, tomato, onion, then the remaining lettuce and top slice of bread. Wrap tightly in parchment paper or wax paper and slice in half. Enjoy immediately!
i put a candle in it, because birthday :)
Giveaway: I hope you guys like chopping vegetables (and everything else) because for my annual birthday giveaway, I’m giving away a shiny sharp Shun Nakiri knife and a Walnut Boos Block Cutting Board from cuttingboard.com. I absolutely LOVE my nakiri and there’s nothing better than chopping and slicing on a beautiful wood cutting board.
To Enter: Leave a comment below with your favorite birthday memory. I want to hear ALL the details! I’ll randomly choose a winner and notify them through email. Open to US residents only. (Sorry international friends!) Also, if you’d like some extra entries (one per follow), follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest (and let me know in your comment). Contest ends September 17th at 12pm PST. Good luck!
Update: Congrats Willow! Get ready to get your knife skills on! Keep an eye out for an email :)
This isn’t necessarily my sweetest birthday memory, but it is by far the funniest. It was the end of summer, and the night before I had pulled a fully innocent (and sober) all-nighter with friends, playing at the park and being silly. The next day, after a quick nap, my mom wanted to treat me to tanning and a pedicure (don’t worry, I cringe now too thinking that that was an acceptable thing to do – the tanning).
Anyways, I was totally sleep deprived going into the tanning bed, but I was 16 and too cool to admit it. I took all my clothes off and got into the bed, and subsequently passed out. The bed turned off after the allotted number of minutes, but when another 10 minutes had passed and I still hadn’t come out, concern rose. My mom, sister, and the employee knocked on my door to see what was wrong, but didn’t hear a peep. They ended up using a ruler to jimmy open the door hook, and opened the bed to find me sound asleep and BUTT ASS NAKED. It took a few shakes to wake me up, and when I did, my eyes widened and my hands flew to cover my crotch as I realized I was naked in front of a stranger.
They remembered my name for yeaaaars.
(I also follow you on Instagram)
My favorite birthdays have been the past two where I’ve been able to celebrate by cruising! it’s awfully nice to take a Caribbean vacation in the middle of January to escape the cold weather!
My favorite birthday memory is being at a baseball game when I was younger. I went with my grandfather and we had hot dogs and soda and of course peanuts. The stadium is now torn down but the memory lives on and it is not just a favorite birthday memory but a favorite memory overall.
Happy Birthday lady! That top photo is just stunning!
I remember the first time my kids brought me breakfast in bed on my birthday :-)
During my first year at college my Dad came to town and surprised me for my birthday! While I still had to take an exam that day, it was wonderful to have sometime to look forward to afterwards. My Dad gave me an edible arrangement and took me out to dinner where were ate the most amazing Indian food. This is definitely one of my favorite birthday memories!
I also follow you on:
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
and Pinterest :)
Thanks!!
My parents threw me a surprise birthday party when I was 7. Honestly, all I remember is being really bummed that I had to go to piano lessons on my birthday and my dad trying to ‘console’ me by saying we’d do something fun on the weekend and then coming home to all my friends in my backyard! Also, getting many mosquito bites, but that was what happened anytime I went outside.
I follow you on instagram and pinterest.
Happy birthday! :)
My favorite bday memory is actually a fairly recent one… This past year, I took a cooking class at Good Stock Farm (http://www.goodstockfarm.com) after reading about them in Food & Wine magazine. I’d been on the fence about spending the money, until I looked over the menus and fell in love with the “Spring Italian” four course meal they’d scheduled on my exact birthday. I convinced a close friend to accompany me, and we had nothing short of a magical time there!
My birthday is on New Years Eve. There’s never a shortage of parties to attend, but they’re never for me. My favorite birthdays is one at my friends house. I had just turned 32, but told everyone I was 26 and no one batted an eye. It didn’t hurt that I was pouring all my own drinks. I have a heavy hand. : )
My 30th year old surprise party in a super nice restarant where we had a mega seafood platter.
My sister cracked a lobster and the juice splashes a big mirror.
Was so funny!
Seb Huynh