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 :)
That first photo is so beautiful! I love it! My favorite birthday memory was a joint birthday party I had with a good friend who shared my birthday. We were at a roller rink and it was 50’s themed, so there were poodle skirts and fantastic black and white saddle shoes as part of the outfit. And of course cat-eyed glasses. (I think we were 8 at the time.) So fun! And happy birthday!
Beautiful colors! This looks so so good. My favorite birthday memory would have to be my surprise 16th birthday party!
So beautiful, I want to take a bite right through the screen!
The Mrs. surprised me with a trip up to Napa for my birthday and we shared some pastries from Bouchon Bakery. That was up there in terms of memorable birthdays.
My favorite birthday memory is this most recent when I took over a painfully declining kitchen. After an anxiety attack and 2 red bulls, I unwrapped my Shun 9inch and took steps toward the future. Happy birthday to me!
My favorite birthday memory was when i was about 12 when our Whole family(birthdays in our family usually had 30-50 family members show up) got thrown out of a local restaurant because everyone got into a food fight inside the restaurant.
I followed on all social media.
The birthday I can remember is one when I was little and right before everyone started to show up I hit my head on the fire place. I have a blood stain on my dress and a red spot on my forehead in all the pictures.
For my 50th I met friends in Berlin and they bought a cake at a local bakery. It was an odd gray-lavender color with gold trim. The baker would not make a white cake (white is for weddings), nor a pink cake (for women’s cakes only), and no flowers (I love all the rules in Germany). It was delicious and an amazing time spent with loved ones. Happy day to you!
My favorite birthday memory is when I was at home alone one year, not planning on doing anything special. I heard a knock on the door and it was a bunch of friends carrying flowers, balloons, and cake! They had brought me a surprise party. :)
One of my favorites b’days was my my S.O. gave me a Boos (can always use another from you ;0 one for meet one for veggies), a shun classic santuku knife, and Bron manoline. I made fillet minion stir fry .. out of this world