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 :)
A great birthday memory actually came a few months after my birthday. My favorite band released an album right before my birthday but it unfortunately sold out in minutes. A few months later my boyfriend surprised me at dinner with the album! I have no idea how he got it but it was the perfect gift. It was like celebrating my birthday all over again
My taste buds runs closer to your Vietnamese coffee cake nowadays but when we were little, our father would purchase a beautifully decorated cake from the bakery. Birthday kid got to eat the ‘roses’ on top!
In 1984 I took a trip to Europe. I was 20 years old and full of wanderlust. I took off with a too heavy backpack and dreams of far away places. In late October I got off a train in Venice Italy, took a boat to Lido and spent October 29th, my 21st birthday on a beach in the most beautiful place I could have imagined. I ate dinner at a little restaurant and tried so hard to be adult. I ordered the fish. They brought me a whole fish out on a plate. I didn’t want to seem rude or unsophisticated so I ate it. It was delicious!
My favorite birthday memory was from my 16th birthday. For my sweet 16, my parents took myself and a few friends into New York for dinner. They even hired a limo! I felt so cool. We got to this very cheesy Italian restaurant and people occasionally got up to dance on the chairs. On the limo ride back we all watched in awe as the limo driver navigated a very narrow NYC side street. Everyone clapped when we made it through.
My favorite birthday was the year that my mom surprised me with pony rides through our neighborhood. Pretty awesome, right?! It was definitely a memorable day :D
Yum, that sandwich looks awesome! My birthday is Christmas Day, so growing up my mom would let me choose when to have my birthday either before or after my actual birthday day. Fast forward a lot of years, and I’m sitting on the couch on Christmas with my husband watching Tangled (which he had gotten me as a present). I’m still in my PJs happy as a clam to be spending the day lazy and with my sweetheart. Suddenly the doorbell rings and like 10 of our friends start pouring into the house shouting ‘Happy Birthday!’ I was stunned and almost started bawling, so my husband sent me to our room to get changed and fix my crazy lazy day hair. When I came back out they had decorated the whole house in birthday decorations, and we had tres leches cake (which is the official cake of my birthday now :] ). That was probably one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had!
My favorite birthday memory is when my mom surprised me by flying across the country for my birthday weekend. She and my brother planned it all and when she arrived, she walked up behind me and gave me a huge hug. I was so unknowing that for a split second, I thought it was someone trying to rob me. Haha! Anyway, the rest of the weekend was filled with family time and of course, great food, including some homemade jam that my mom had brought along with her!
Happy birthday!
One of my favorite birthday memories is of my 30th, when I threw a Southern-themed dinner party to share my Mississippi favorites (and some I’ve discovered since moving away) with a dozen of my closest friends. I made fried okra, fried catfish, squash casserole, cheese straws, deviled eggs, and a whole bunch of other goodies I can’t remember now for a party of skeptical PNW friends who walked away happy and surprised by Southern food that wasn’t heavy, tasteless, and drowned in gravy, which is generally what the Yankees up here think all Southern food is. Tons of work, but well worth it!
LOVE this recipe and this giveaway. Favorite birthday memorrrrryyyy would be the first year my siblings stopped putting Creepy Crawlers into my bed in the morning of my bday. I was born on April Fool’s Day, so it was a “joke.” Still scarred, clearly!
My favorite birthday memory was when I turned 9 while my family was visiting Puerto Rico. My grandfather took me out to a fancy restaurant, where a huge gift basket full of goodies with balloons was waiting for me on the table. The waiters all tried to sing me “Happy Birthday” in English, even though none of them really knew the words! I’ll never forget it!