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 :)
Oh, I love birthdays, too. I used to be a preschool teacher, so now I make birthday crowns for all of my friends and family each year. I have the world’s worst memory, but I remember birthdays.
I have had really great low-key birthdays/birthday parties the last two years. We have a handful of friends over (6 works best). My husband makes pizza. Guests usually bring their favorite topping to share. This year, one of my friends made a giant felt cactus for me. It was the best (and most original) birthday gift I’ve received in a while.
My birthday is in early January, so it’s already doomed – it’s right after Christmas, it seems that everyone near and dear to me is always suffering from some winter ailment or it’s inclement weather. The year I turned 30, I was having a PARTY. Period. Invites were sent, people RSVPd. Except for my best friend Mindy, who had recently moved to NYC for work. She said she had another commitment that weekend. Boy, was I miffed. And I let my friend Brian KNOW IT. Fast forward to party night. Guests arrived. And low and behold, Mindy showed up with Brian. I was floored that she showed up. And only slightly guilty feeling that I had talked trash about her. Brian had told her how mad I was that she wasn’t coming, so they worked REALLY hard to keep a secret and best me. Friends… gotta love ’em!
It was my 14th birthday, in Sinai with family and friends. Now, Nueba city has its charms for sure, and Tarabin has my internal fondness, but dairy products hadn’t come that way in a while and cake was not exactly a local staple. So there we were chilling out post dinner in reclining-backgammon mode when the waiter apears with not one but 2 huge multi tiered colorful cream frosted cakes. It was sooooo beautiful and we had enough to share with pretty much everyone in town.
Happy Birthday! Make every veggie sandwich count!
Not open to your fellow Vancouver (Canadian) peeps?
P.S. Happy Birthday!!!
That sandwich looks like the best birthday meal! Food is so important i. Making a birthday great, and mine was last year when I had an amazing dinner at Michelin star Piora in NYC, chefs tasting, kitchen tour and netting the chef was definitely a great way to celebrate me lol Happy birthday to you!!
My mom used to scatter “candy cups” around the house with my favorite candies on my birthday. Even though they were no more than than candies in colorful cupcake paper, it was so much fun to have a little treat waiting for me in every room in the house.
Best memory: slicing into my first ever homemade cake, the Momofuku Milk Bar Birthday Cake. Still the best cake I’ve ever had.
My favorite birthday was when my husband took me skydiving for my 30th birthday. I loved it! Since I was the smallest they sat me and the tandem instructor I was paired with right next to the door. It was a clear garage type opening door and so I could see everything as we took off and got to the correct altitude. It made me a tiny bit nervous but I was so excited and it was so amazing to be first out of the plane!
I’ve never been a big birthday person because we didn’t really celebrate them much when I was a kid. I guess I don’t really get birthdays but give me something adventurous and I’m a happy person. For our anniversary my husband surprised me with shark diving – to be fair, this makes me sound more interesting than I probably am… I definitely could use a good, new kitchen knife though!
My favorite birthday was getting 12 of my closest friends to gather in Seattle and have a private family style luncheon in the kitchen at Salumi. Hours of platters of homemade delicious Italian food and bottles of wine. Casual setting, great company that just carried into a super fun weekend. All the best things.