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 think my favorite birthday memory is when my mom let me have a Tamagotchi themed party at a skate ring… I was so, so cool for like a week after that party, lol!
My favorite birthday memory is when I turned 18. My family and I headed out to San Francisco and ate dim sum. We explored the city together and had kbbq for dinner!
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Happy birthday to you!
My favorite birthday memory would have to be my last birthday turning 24. I got to sleep in a little, always a plus, and I went out to brunch at one of my favorite brunch spots and enjoyed biscuits and gravy with my fiancee, mother, twin sister (who was in town from Florida) and my adorable little 6 month old niece! After that, my fiancee and I packed up our kayaks and went out to a small lake to hang out, relax, and spend some time enjoying the beautiful weather (warm and sunny!). Then I headed out to some of my favorite bars with my close friends and family. Later on we ended up at a place called One Eyed Betty’s in Ferndale, MI that has the best late night food ever, where we all stuffed our faces! That was the first time in many years my sister and I were able to celebrate our birthday together and I was so happy that I got to spend it with all of my loved ones, was able to do a couple things I enjoy, and eat some awesome food!
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Happy birthday! This sandwich looks beautiful and delicious and I would LOVE this knife…would be a great little housewarming gift to myself before I move into my new solo apartment next month! I think my favorite (sorta random) birthday memory was going to see Edward Scissorhands in the theater. I was turning 5. Definitely a little young for it, but my parents didn’t really care. I saw the commercials and was just sooo wowed by the scissors, I HAD to see it. I had to close my eyes during a lot of it. And some of it made me a little sad. But creepy little 5 year-old me loved it.
It was my 29th birthday and I was celebrating the actual day with my girlfriends at a restaurant for dinner. My boyfriend at the time kept asking me a million questions about where I was going and who I was going with. I didn’t think anything about it bc we always ask for details when one of us goes out for a special occasion. I arrived at the restaurant and there were 3 beautiful floral arrangements set up at the table, arranged by him, of course. He also had already sent me flowers earlier in the day. My BF also had his niece surprise me with my favorite berry Chantilly cake from Whole Foods, too!
That’s not all that happened. The weekend came along and my BF arranged a surprise weekend getaway trip for us to the San Juan Islands. He had my bags packed without me knowing! Before we headed to the islands, he brought me to brunch and then to my very first flight class. I flew an airplane! While we were in the sky, he gave me a deck of personalized cards he had printed versuses of a poem he had written on them. He said the most sweetest things. He’s a resident words smith so his sweet words always brought tears to my eyes. On the last card, he asked me to marry him!! As the tears in my eyes start rolling down my cheeks, I heard in the headset him yelling my name. I turned around and there he was in the backseat of the airplane on one knee with the most gorgeous diamond ring ever!
MOST MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY, ever!! Then we celebrated my birthday and our engagement all weekend long on the most beautiful island in the PNW!
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Birthdays become more about celebrating with close friends and family with each passing year, but one tradition that holds true is my block of green pistachio almond ice cream cake! I’ve had one of those every year for the past 33 years and despite having at pistachio gelato in Rome and artisan moat colored stuff in San Francisco, the bright electric green of the original Carvel ice cream cake with the crunchy chocolate cookie crumbs in the middle and generic white frosting with a droll picture of something glib still marks the turning point of having another year under my belt. I truly think the simple things are the best and evoke the true meaning of growth – the appreciation of tradition and finding memories that draw us back to carefree days of youth and birthday parties with paper hats!
That sandwich looks awesome! Yum!
My favorite birthday memory was 2010 – I am “lucky” enough to have a birthday in the dead of winter in December. I was all ready for my birthday to arrive – reservations at my favorite restaurant with all my best friends! Then.. the morning of my birthday I woke up to 10 inches of snow. And you know what, it kept on snowing! Another 9 inches! Needless to say, travel was difficult, plans were cancelled, we got stuck in snow banks 3 times… but it really did end up being one the of the best birthdays ever. My husband and I dug out the stuck car 3 times and ended up making homemade soup and crazy grilled cheese sandwiches and staying in. Just goes to show that birthdays don’t always have to be full of crazy plans to be great!
I too LOVE my birthday. One particular year-it was a hard one. I had recently separated from my husband and was living with a friend while my new apartment was being renovated. I had literally taken my clothes and that was it. I was starting from scratch and had left all my beloved kitchen equipment. My dearest friends surprised me with an intimate gathering, a catered dinner, dance party, and tons of new home gifts. I got my first (and only) shun knife, a beautiful pendant light, a tivoili speaker, a handmade cutting board, and a few other treasures. I will be forever grateful for that birthday, and those friends. The gifts were lovely, and I cherish them all, but those friends will forever be dearest to my heart. They helped me regain a bit of my self back and picked me up when I needed it most.
My favorite birthday was my 21st birthday. My mom had finally been able to fulfill her wish to go to Hawaii that year. My 21st birthday was spent eating Spam-based foods for lunch, eating roast pig for dinner, and then hanging out at the hotel bar. There was a band playing and my older brother and I were the only people there, so it was like a personal concert for the two of us sitting in the open air bar on a beach. It was worth every bit of it.
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This year for my birthday, my 6 year old told me the night before that he’d had my present for a couple of weeks. “Yep mom, I’ve been working on it for awhile now.” The next morning, he came downstairs, looked at me, and said “Oh wait, let me go get your present.” He walked out of the room, then cam back in a gave me a giant hug. “That’s your present mom…a huge hug!” Best present ever to start my birthday off laughing!