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 :)
I was working as an Outward Bound instructor in Zambia many years ago, and my 20th birthday was due to fall on a day we were out on expedition in the bush. Before heading out, I raided the kitchen for the closest thing I could find to birthday cake, and on the day, after sending my students off alone for the night, I sat down and opened the two packets of instant pudding I’d brought, chocolate and caramel, just add water. I did, stirred like a fiend in the two tin bowls I’d brought, and sat there in the dust by a pretty stream eating two quarts of pudding, alone, feeling on the one hand a bit sad not to be able to share with anyone, but on the other hand feeling quite cheerful that I was in such a lovely place, gorging myself on sweets, no longer a teenager but an adult now, and both self-indulgent and self-sufficient in equal measure. I’ve had wilder birthdays, more romantic birthdays (and a 5th birthday when I loaned my girlfriend, Bobby-Joe Bradley a cowboy costume so she could be one of the boys, the photograph of which I still treasure, though Bobby-Joe sadly flunked kindergarten and I never saw her again), and certainly many birthdays with better food, but my 20th, alone in the Zambian bush, with all that instant pudding, is one I remember with particular pleasure. (Love your blog, which I just discovered.)
My favorite birthday memory is from my 19th birthday. It was my first time spending my birthday living on my own. I was able to experiment cooking different food that I enjoyed from my childhood like homemade biscuits, crêpes, fish, among other things. Some went better than others but by the end of the day, I had been able to cook everything on my list. In the evening, I was able to hang out with a lot of my friends and just have a good time relaxing together.
My ultimate love of my life is sloths. Weird? I don’t know I just love them. So for my last birthday, my boyfriend took me to an animal sanctuary where I got to hold and hang out with sloths all day long. It was amazing and something I’ll never ever forget. They are the cutest, huggable animals ever – definitely my spirit animal!
Fave birthday memory – the surprise party where we took over a bar and had a playdough sculpting competition. In our 20s.
yo yo yo yo! this is good yo. swag m8
My favorite birthday was when I turned 16. My parents took me to San Francisco and we stayed at a mansion-turned-bed-and-breakfast. I think it was called The Mansion. We had fresh croissants with jam for breakfast and at the House of Prime Rib for dinner. Best birthday food ever!