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 :)
My fav birthday was when my boyfriend (now Fiance) took me out on an all day San Francisco excursion on our 2nd or 3rd date – we ate amazing Korean BBQ.
And even better he got me a Hobbes from Calvin and Hobbes crochet stuffed animal (I am Asian girly 100%) from etsy that looked identical to the comic and right now almost 5 years later it’s still sitting on my bed :)
My 25th birthday would have to be my highlight. My birthday is near the end of June and it was already the worst year I had in my life. My Crohn’s got to the point where I was in so much pain, so I had to have surgery. Recovery was rough, I got back to work and on my birthday itself found out no one checked off the box in the system that I was back at work so I wasn’t going to be getting paid that day. So broke, finally recovered and in a horrible mood my friends and I went to a Brazilian Churrasquierra.
My close friend Danielle knew about my days issues and I told her to just keep an eye on me and make sure I didn’t drink too much. She asked me when she’d know. I told her “When I look happy”. We get there, all 10 of us are talking, having fun, I ordered a beer but only had two smallish sips, so it was still almost full. I was starting to get very tipsy, borderline drunk very fast off those two sips alone and my friend Mike just looks at me and asks “How many drinks have you had” I look at it, say “This is my first one” and everyone looks at me and we all laugh how much of a lightweight I am after 4 or 5 years without drinking.
This is when Danielle looks at me, leans over the table and yells “RYAN! ARE YOU HAPPY YET?” and everyone looks at her weird. I yell back “NO” and everyone looks at me like I just insulted them. She and I laugh and explain the events from earlier that day and everyone joins in the laughter too. I end up slowly nursing the drink, but when the biill came my friends told me to put my wallet away there was no way I was paying for my part of the bill, and then a friend treated me to a drink and a game of bowling at the late night/more adult bowling alley we went to afterwards.
Good friends, fun times, what more can someone ask for after months of struggles?
My favorite birthday tradition involved going out to dinner with my grandparents and parents. I always got nabeyaki udon and it was always delicious.
I don’t really do much for my birthdays, but I do remember going to the aquarium once.
I have follow you on Twitter (@kxrxkxt) and on Pinterest (@kurokat)
My th birthday thrown by my sister! Great night!
When I was a kid my grandmother made me strawberry cake with strawberry frosting for my birthdays. As an adult I would say the cake was sickly sweet (in fact none of the adults would eat it), but as a kid I loved that super sweet pink cake! I’d run my finger around the edge of the cake plate, picking up the thick frosting on my fingers and licking it before the candles were placed on it (maybe that’s why none of the adults ate it!).
My childhood birthdays were a boom of pink! I was such a “girly girl” and loved all things pink. My cake of choice for years was pink cake with strawberry frosting.
THAT SANDWICH. Alllllll about the veggies. Even gluten free I don’t eat much bread, but your photographs make it look so worth it. I love the shadow/contrast in your shots.
Anyway… birthday memory. Definitely my 7 year old, decked out, American Girl Doll PJ party. I have this distinct memory of sitting around a large table in purple footie pjs, doll by my side (dressed in the same attire, miniature sized, of course), with an entire pie of pizza in front of me. Which I then demolished. Followed by miniature individual chocolate cakes that my mom made for each and every one of my “bestest friends forever,” which at the time, was about 17 people haha. Everything was just so easy back then!
Happy birthday :)
My favourite birthday memory has to be my 14th birthday and my very first visit to the beach.
Growing up I was always a fussy eater, my parents had put me on a super strict diet from very young after I was hospitalized a couple of times as a child. I have severe nut and dairy allergies and they were always fearful of me trying new things.
We went to this small fishing village in a rented motor home for a family holiday. It was the first time I’d seen the ocean and I fell in love instantly.
On the afternoon of my birthday I went exploring on my own and discovered a fish market. All the beautiful colours and species of fish, I’d never seen anything like it. Amidst the market there was this old man with a couple of frying pans and a small gas top camping stove cooking seafood for customers who had bought fish at the market.
He and I got to talking and when he discovered I’d never tried any seafood before he looked astonished. He asked me to watch his stand for a few mins and then came back with an arm full of lots of little cuts of fish and seafood. I must have tried 30 different fish varieties that day!
Ever since then I’ve had a love affair with Al things fish, from Albacore tuna to, well, I can’t think of one beginning with Z, but you get the idea. I love sashimi, especially unusual fish. I’d love the chance to use proper Japanese steel to cut it..! ;)
Happy birthday! Ours aren’t that far apart (mine is on Tuesday. YAY VIRGOS!) Just adore all the freshness and the textures in this sandwich. It’s really striking.
Hope you celebrated in style!