Vegan Macaroni and Cheese for One

Mac & Cheese is just one of those dishes that everyone seems to love. It's creamy, tasty comfort food based around two beautiful things: pasta and cheese. However, it can be kind of heavy, and what's more it isn't vegan-friendly. So, with this recipe that I've crafted, all the vegans out there can hopefully once more enjoy the goodness of mac & cheese without any unusual substitutes and the rest of us can be a little bit kinder to our bodies.


I N G R E D I E N T S

100g dry pasta
1 tablespoon flavourless oil
1 tablespoon plain flour
75ml unsweetened almond milk
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon nutritious yeast flakes
salt & pepper to taste


M E T H O D

1. cook pasta as per the bag's instructions
2. whilst the pasta is cooking, heat oil in a separate pot over medium heat and stir in flour until smooth
3. gradually add the almond milk in until well combined and silky
4. stir in the mustard and yeast flakes, then season heavily with pepper and salt.
5. once the pasta is ready (usually about 10 minutes), your cheesy sauce will be too.
6. combine and serve

serves 1
time: 15 minutes 

this is how your roux/sauce should look once you've added the milk. feel free to add more if you want a thinner sauce!

What I love about this recipe is it's so easily customized. You can change the type of oil or milk you use, you can add more mustard powder for a stronger taste, skip the yeast flakes if you can't find any, or use the whole thing as a base and dress it up with extra vegetables. You can even add turmeric in for a more yellow-coloured sauce. And what's not to love about healthier choices? It really does taste like it's made with dairy.

If you try this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you!

Love, Anna

Heidelberg: Schloss und Philosophenweg

When most people think of Heidelberg, they probably think of the castle (Schloss) and the Philosophenweg, which is a walking trail that gives you a brilliant view of the city and also allows you to explore the history of the place as a whole. During my trip there, I managed to visit of these things. This is what I saw:

H E I D E L B E R G E R  S C H L O S S

As you can see, the castle was pretty cool. I would have liked to have gotten a tour of the ruins, but we didn't have much time and so only wandered around the castle grounds. The views were stunning despite the low light. It's also quite a steep climb, so getting to rest up there was a good reward.

P H I L O S O P H E N W E G

The Philosophenweg- uphill, exhausting, worth it. The trail is adorned with trees, monastic and Roman ruins and beautiful views of the city. We had to stop quite a few times to catch our breath, but it was really good to see, and we were proud of ourselves once we'd managed the whole thing.

Possibly the most shocking discovery made on our hike/walk on the Philosphenweg was an amphitheater known as "Thingstätte". We had been walking for about an hour and a half, and that high up you wouldn't expect to find such a structure. What made it even more haunting was the fact that it was built and used by Nazis. I don't know what for, exactly, but it made the experience all the more uncomfortable. It was a fascinating structure, deserted but for tourists like ourselves.

So Heidelberg - it was a good trip. I'm a total lover of Germany, I love seeing new cities and towns. I love to see history and the present intertwined in unexpected ways. I definitely got to learn more about life in the country from this trip. I got to see some of the university, which I didn't photograph. It was a really good way to start off my year. And Heidelberg is so pretty and unique yet so in keeping with the German spirit.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope this month goes really well for each of you!

Anna x