Lunch first....

Did we talk about butter??  Plugra is my favorite butter to finish things off with, unsalted of course!

The Husband!

That's Glen , The husband, recipient of all the great food Cindy makes, lucky guy!

More of the gang!

What happened to John's crown? Who cares the food and company were the focus, in that order??

More fun...



Morgan and Bill, always having fun, except when Bill takes credit for the cookies, right Morgan???



Family, Food and Fun!

The cook on left, Bill to busy to smile , I don't blame hime, the food was divine!

Now, is this enough snow for you Jackie????

Yummy!

This hot cocoa is reason enough to go out to play in the snow, that's exactly what we did! Played in the snow and came back for some beautiful cocoa! Anything chocolate right?

Snow and lots of it, at least to some of us in the south!!!

Merry Chistmas! There is something so special when it snows on Christmas day, especially in North Carolina!

The only thing that is decorated! Yikes!

Christmas so soon?

Can you believe that it's almost Christmas? Our daughter woke up and said "only 6 more days till Christmas!" Being in the holiday spirit, my first thought was all the laundry to be done, the porch needs to look festive, like putting up the beautiful wreath we bought last week at the farmers market! I'm sure the wreath will look gorgeous hanging as opposed to laying on the bench!
Oh dear, all I want to know does any of this sound familiar to anyone??????
Our pots though do look nice!

always happy, always a reminder!

                                happy girl!

Mum & Me!

I got my sparkle from Mum, just look at her eyes, lovely!

Mum & Me , always lots of love

As you can imagine, this year brings up so very many things for all of us.
For me it is my Mum, and of course my Dad too!
The holidays, even thought it is our first holiday without Mum and Dad, it doesn't feel sadder, it just feels like it always does, a place where something is missing, though along with that empty place , it is filled with richness of my memories of them.
I came across this picture of my Mum and I , and I think she is smiling that sparkley eyed smile, not only because of her spirit, I'm a bit suspicious it is because , my Dad is cleaning up the kitchen after a lovely meal!
So many things to  be thankful for , I only wish all my blog readers knew them, hopefully you get a sense!
My heart is rich, with thoughts of them, and often times a tug from my past with them...... With grace and warmth to all during these special days!   Maggie

My Mum and Dad...

It has occured to me in writing about food, that it was my Mum who was so influential to me. My Mum when I was growing up was having 50 lb bags of whole wheat flour, oats, all of these wonderful things delivered to our home. And that was in the 60's!
At the time it was embarrassing to be eating whole grain breads, granola , everything homemade, though I thought at the time she was crazy. All my friends were eating white squishy bread, oreos, potatoe chips, soda, nope not us ! Along with the whole foods, we were gagging down cod liver oil and the plethera of vitamins doled out to us each morning, ugh.
In retrospect, I get it , and got it along time ago. She was an amazing woman, the Adele Davis of her time. One of the other many appreciations is how there was never any talk about calories, fat, weight, it was simply about eating extremely well . She took my Dad's turned up nose, at some of this lovely food in quiet stride especially when the meatless meatloaf arrived on the table, though he would quietly grumble, Dad adored Mum too much to do otherwise. Dad just was not  as adventureous as Mum!
My Mum passed away January 2010, and Daddy passed away in July 2010, We miss them so much  and forever beyond grateful for what they gave me and taught me, If not for Mum, I would not be doing a second career in food!!!!

Earth Fare!

O.K! Those of you that know me, know that I am a foodie, I love reading about it , talking about it, and cooking it!  Most of all eating it! Crazy, maybe not, I love food shopping, even more than shoe shopping (although my husband would not believe that).
My absolute favorite market is Earth Fare in the Westgate shopping center. The customer service is unbelievable, couldn't be better, the endless choices, the freshness of it all. Ahhh.....
I never know when to go to my favorite department first or save the best for last.... yep , the cheese dept. Carrie, is magnificent in helping you pick the absolute best combinations of cheeses to go on a cheese board, she has a solution for it all. The olive bar , now that's my kind of bar, is beautiful, one just wants to have a bit of everything. Needless to say we are so happy to have Earth Fare!
Did you see the Brie they were giving away, yes giving away this week? Of course you need your coupon! Simple! Thankyou Earth Fare!

Food for Friends...

Our very dear friends just had their second baby, for me it meant that I was chomping at the bit to deliver a lovely meal to them, Yes, I know you have seen the picture of my portabella lasagna with a bechemel sauce, it's because it's sooooo easy to make! The recipe is from The Barefoot Contessa At Home cookbook.
I just love her because her recipes are so do-able, things you might have on hand, again, she does use lots of  butter but we have to remember quality over quantity and that is just some of what she has created!
All that said, I simply made the lasagna, with a simple salad of arugula with a homemade lemon vinaigrette, a lovely bottle of red wine, then just a nice dark chocolate, and fresh fruit! Easy, and a great gift to exhasted new parents!  My recipe for the lemon vinaigrette is on my website, any thoughts , ideas are welcomed!    Warmly, Maggie

Yes, you know what this is , the best lasagne ever, start with the lasagne, then the salad or any order that suits your fancy!

Simply, start with Arugula, then add a luscious lemon vinaigrette dressing!

Ahhh ...... eat, enjoy, breathe......

Meal, complete, with a happy family, and a very happy cook!!!!!

Recipes!

As someone pointed out to me today, no names (o.k, it's Joy!) She clearly let me know that she would not go back to my blog unless their were recipes to go with the food pictures, and simply flashed her magnificent smile, though I KNEW very clearly she meant it!
So....... With that being said, let me know if you would like any of the recipes of the food shown!! Thankyou Joy!
                                                                                                Maggie

Taking your food very seriously!

More Food!

O.K. so, I'm a bit sentimental and a lot silly. This picture was of our daughter Sophia, and my husband John when we went to China to adopt Sophia. The only way Sophia would go to John was the promise of  food! Simple right????
For more delicious food thoughts , ideas, recipes, be sure to go to maggie@ auberginesandolives.com
                                                                                                    Enjoy! Maggie

A new season!

Yes, fall is here! Look for all the seasonal things that are in your markets, kale, squashes, even the last of the eggplants, yes those little yellow and green stripe goodies are eggplants! Think about simply cooking lots of fresh veggies, maybe some quinoa, or brown basmati rice add some beans , and of course lots of garlic to saute with the beans. Simple, healthy, easy!

Ah..... beautiful food....

OLIVES ANYONE?

Welcome to the  Aubergines and Olives blog. This is my very first post! I will be sharing stories, recipe's and photo's. Stop by http://www.auberginesandolives.com/ for more information.

That's my daughter Sophia snacking on some olives...

Cooking, Maggie style...eating Maggie style...

HMMMMM.................

First important ingredient!

More important ingredients!

So sometimes we're short on time! Oh, and your teeth are not a tool!

Nummy, Nummy, Nummy!

For more fun food stuff check out our website!

http://www.auberginesandolives.com/