Delicious roasted tomato soup

Hello dear reader,
If there is one thing you absolutely have to learn when you're into cooking, it's preparing a great soup from scratch. After all, those soups out of a tin just don't cut it... Once you get the hang of it you'll be cooking up delicious homemade soups in no time!

I like to prepare a soup every week. My favourites vegetables to cook a soup from are broccoli, paprika, cauliflower (yes, really!), and of course tomatoes. Yesterday I prepared this beautiful roasted tomato soup with loads of basil and some balsamic vinegar and I will be sharing this recipe with you today. We ate it with some bread, herb cheese and creamy goats cheese, yumm!

Creamy hummus with fresh herbs

Hey guys!

I'm having a bit of a bad day today so the only thing that helps is spending a lot of time in the kitchen, naturally! I've already prepared some really tasty granola, some deliciously creamy hummus and I'm baking some tomatoes in the oven for a roasted tomato soup as we speak. Recipe will follow soon ;)

But first: the hummus. Since it was the first time I prepared it, I used this recipe from +Chickslovefood for inspiration (I'm sorry, it's in Dutch!) and measurements. I added some personal touches and it ended up being so good... My advice: eat it on a cracker with some thinly sliced chicken breast and some fresh veggies such as lettuce, or cucumber. Tasty!

Homemade granola

Good day!
As I mentioned before: breakfast recipes are my favourite recipes to share. And I have so many! Granola for example, which I started making a few months ago. Not only does it taste very nice in a bowl of yoghurt in the morning, it makes your whole house smell nice, too!

It does not take up that much work, you just need to find the right balance. I just keep tasting in between, but if you are more a "recipe kinda person" I bet you'll be able to measure your way through it in no time. Trust me, once you taste this granola you'll crave it for breakfast every day...

Tips & tricks: Rome

Heya foodies,
Today I will share with you some of the things we've learned when visiting Rome. There are some things you should avoid and some things you definitely shouldn't: so I thought I'd write about my experiences! If there's anything you think I should add, feel free to let me know.

Pie for breakfast: apple/cinnamon/oatmeal crumble out of the oven

Okay, admit it: the best part of celebrating your birthday is having pie for breakfast. Well do I have some good news for you: there's a way to have guilt-free pie like breakfasts as often as you please!
That's right, I'm going to share with you today one of my favourite ways to start the day if I have a little more time on my hands. It's also great as a dessert: even better if you add some vanilla or cinnamon ice cream! Continue reading....

Adventures in Rome Part Three

Hi guys! I promise this time I will finish writing about our journey, haha. Continue reading if you'd like to know what we've done on Thursday!
(Hint: it includes monkeys and cats. If that doesn't get you curious I don't know what will)

Adventures in Rome Part Two

Hi again! Thanks for reading my blog :)

This entry will contain day three in Rome, which only leaves the fourth day to write about. (Read Part One here) It was such a wonderful day: we visited the Vatican city and saw so much more, we behaved like true tourists and ate some great food!

Adventures in Rome Part One

Woohoo! It's time for a little holiday with the boyfriend. If you'd like to know our experiences continue reading... 

Monday 

On Monday afternoon we flew to Rome, Italy. We arrived a little before six p.m., and we took a shuttle service to the central station. From there we decided to walk to our apartment, which took us around 20 minutes. It was a little weird at first, because it was already dark outside and that made everything seem different than it is by day. However, there was a still a lot going on so overall we didn't have a negative first impression. 

Okay, now I really introduce myself

Heeeellooo

Okay, I've already said so twice before, but this really will be the blog in which I introduce myself. Not that I'm so interesting or anything, but for those who'd like to know who's talking... Continue reading!

My name is Vivian, I'm 20 years old and I'm a student. As the name of the blog already suggests, I'm really into cooking! (And I am alive..?) Tasting and trying out new recipes is what I like to do in my spare time, and I am lucky to be surrounded by many who are like-minded. This means I tend to gain weight when I'm not being careful: with all those food lovers around me I end up eating a lot of good food! I try to find a balance between "good" days, with many vegetables and little meat and stuff, and "bad" days... Which for me usually means cooking/eating those extremely tasty pasta dishes, or something that involves a lot of potatoes and melted cheese, and always ordering desert when at a restaurant. Oops. But what can I say? I'm a person who believes enjoying good food equals enjoying life.

Tasty home-made lasagne using your leftover vegetables

Hello hello!

Sorry, no picture of this tasty home-made lasagne I speak of: the smell of it made us too eager to dig in! I guess you'll have to take my word for it ;) let me tell you; this creamy, cheesy, salty yet subtly flavoured combination is to die for...

For students, cooking can sometimes be a challenge. Whether it is because you have to eat dry bread until your next student allowance is deposited into your bank account, or because you simply have no idea what to cook or how to cook it... I'm sure we've all been there at least once. This is why my first recipe will be a budget; and fool-proof but extremely tasty home-made lasagne!

Time for a proper introduction

Hey you!

I think it's time for me to tell a bit more about myself. After all, today is a gloomy, sad and rainy day here in the Netherlands so what else am I gonna do ;)

First of all, I have a message I'd like to get out there. I've been thinking about starting a blog for so long, I've even attempted a blog before (which, unfortunately, stopped after the introduction post) but I never picked up the courage to do so. And I'll tell you why.
Social media nowadays is filled with perfect pictures, stories that will make even the happiest person jealous, and people promoting their perfect lives. Which is, of course, great for the folks living these lives but for the many others watching... not so much.

Quick introduction

Hi there!

I see you've found my blog :) I can almost hear you stutter: "But... there's no content yet?" Well [insert your name here], here's the thing: I usually am a very organised person. I like to make lists and plan ahead, and here I am thinking of a blog name out of the blue. I had to make sure "Alive and Cooking" was not registered yet (it was, so I added 'stay' in front of it) and now I'm scared that you're gonna leave me, thinking I'm just another blog that only picks a name and then sits there for ages thinking of something, anything to write about, if I don't post a quick hello.

So. Hello.
My name is Vivian, I'm a 20 year old girl from the Netherlands and am currently on a break from studying. (No, not because I'm lazy, will explain more in later post) This leaves me with a lot of time, which I like to spend cooking! Of course, I have a lot of other hobbies and whatnot, but that is all for a later stage to discuss.