New Years Eve Mezze Board

New Years Eve is often a night full of unfulfilled expectations. The stakes are always set unnecessarily high for a night that really should be like any other. While I used to stress and fret about New Years plans when I was younger, for the last few years I've set expectations aside, and changed my mindset to think of it as just a late night with friends. While no, I don't like to have high expectations in terms of social plans on New Years, I still can't help but want to send the previous year off and ring in the new one on a delicious note!

Like so many holidays that I celebrate, New Years Eve often ends up being a potluck amongst my friends. I always enjoy putting together a beautiful cheese and charcuterie board for potlucks, but this year I had a different idea brewing. If you haven't yet heard, 2018 was the year of the Mezze Board, giving people an opportunity to get a little more creative with their boards, as well as welcoming the chance to offer some healthier choices into the mix. A mezze board is really what you make it, but think of it as a spread that includes veggies, dips, pita bread, pickles, salads, and sometimes even more, inspired by Middleterranean cuisine.

I love mezze boards for so many reasons! The best thing about a mezze board, in my opinion, is that it really allows you to put in whatever amount of time, effort, and money that you feel comfortable with. If you're short on time, you can literally purchase anything and everything you'll need to build a beautiful mezze board right at the grocery store! Because the holidays are such a busy time, I built the board shown in the photos above from pre-made shortcuts from my local Metro grocery store. I picked up my favourite olives from the olive bar, bought packages of hummus and couscous, pre-made falafels ready to heat-and-eat, and quickly cut up some veg. If I find that I have more time on my hands closer to New Years Eve, it's likely I'll make my own hummus and couscous, but will still turn to the pre-made falafels, and olives from the olive bar. I love knowing that I have that flexibility if my schedule should change!

I also love that mezze boards allow you to offer different options for friends who may have dietary restrictions. A number of my friends have become vegetarian recently, and you can always count on a few dairy-free and gluten-free guests in the mix. With a mezze board you can have all sorts of options and variety that can work for pretty much anyone! Play around with different dishes and ingredients that work for you and your friends tastes, but keep in mind that you want variety in textures and colours to keep things interesting.

Mezze Board Ideas:

• Olives
• Taboulé
• Couscous
• Hummus
• Babaganoush 
• Vegetable crudité 
• Tzatziki
• Pita bread
• Falafel balls
• Fresh herbs 
• Marinated vegetables 
• Grilled lemons
• Roasted Chickpeas
• Grape leaves

This post was created in partnership with Metro Ontario.

Listening To:
Lola - The Raincoats

Holiday Decorations for the Food Obsessed

The first snowfall has arrived in Toronto, and with the Santa Clause Parade this weekend and the Distillery Christmas Market all set up for the masses, there's no better time to start planning your holiday decor! In my humble opinion, I think the best holiday decorations are the ones that have a personal touch to them. Whether your decorations evoke a memory or are homemade, there's something so much more charming about creating a holiday environment that really means something to YOU! Being the food obsessed person that I am, I like to find inspiration for my own holiday decor in my kitchen, creating centrepieces that incorporate some unexpected pantry items! 

Most of my favourite childhood holiday memories involve either holiday arts and crafts or holiday baking. Long before the days of Pinterest, my mom somehow managed to always have a craft or recipe up her sleeve to get my sister and I into the festive spirit. I have so many fond memories of us making ornaments out of dough, painting and stamping our own homemade wrapping paper, making pipe cleaner angels, and making Christmas cookies with my grandparents, that fill me with the warm and fuzzies, and bring a fond tear to my eye! I love the idea of incorporating both a DIY element as well as food into my holiday decor, as a nostalgic nod to my favourite holiday memories growing up. Take a peek at my three favourite ways of utilizing your kitchen pantry to create holiday candleholders that make for a striking centrepiece! 

Himalayan salt is known for its positive effects on the environment (it detoxifies the air, and releases positive ions into the environment), but also for its beautiful colour! I saved some leftover glass yogurt jars (I use the Maison Riviera Petit Pot jars) to act as a vessel for little tea lights. Pop the tea lights into the cleaned jars, and carefully spoon Himalayan salt around the candle to hold it in place. The light of the candle emits the most beautiful and romantic pink glow that looks stunning next to silver elements! This is also a cute idea to make DIY holiday gifts for those on a budget. Have someone on your gifting list looking for a Himalayan salt lamp? Why not make them their own Himalayan salt candles!

When looking for inspiration for this post, I wandered through literally every single aisle of my local Metro grocery store, looking for innovative ideas that I may not have thought of for holiday decor. In the bulk aisle I came across some wasabi peas that, to me, looked like they were dusted in freshly-fallen snow! It was too cute not to try out! I used the same glass yogurt jars and simply popped the tea lights inside. I nestled the jars into a decorative tray and spooned the snowy-looking peas around the jars to hold them in place. 

My final idea for you is one that I came up with a few years ago. Struck by the beauty of vibrant pink peppercorns (that actually appear more red than pink!) I yet another foodie candleholder, this time incorporating those beautiful dried berries! I took a small white serving platter and arranged some tea lights on it and then spooned in my pink peppercorns. Et voila! So simple and lovely! 

Do you have a clever holiday decor idea involving food? I want to know ALL about it! Tell me about it in the comments below! 

This post was created in partnership with Metro Ontario. 

Listening To:

Your Dog - Soccer Mommy