Get your noodle together

One thing that I've become much more aware of recently is the art of photographing food. Prior to blogging I would never have thought about it, but now I have really started to see the high level of skill that is involved in food photography and styling.

Reading beautiful blogs such as Katie's Kitchen Journal, Joy the Baker and Topped with Cinnamon, I have suddenly felt rather plain and boring. My photos tend to consist of close ups, with a few shots of  our lovely wooden table, which makes a background a bit more interesting! I've noticed how many more likes a photo gets on Instagram (yes, I am that sad) if it is presented beautifully - really, the time it takes to chop up a few herbs, dig out pretty plates or scatter over a handful of nuts is 100% worth it. If food looks beautiful, you, my lovely readers, will be more likely to admire it; to hunger for it, to want to make it yourself.

I think that it's important to focus on the quality of the posts as opposed to the regularity of posting. Not all of us can be professional bloggers, especially not with exams looming in the next few months! So be prepared for less recipes, but (hopefully) more attractive photos.

I love noodles - they're basically another way to eat pasta - and we usually eat them on Saturday nights in a stir fry. However, recently I packed some leftovers into a box and threw it in my bag with a spork; and what a lovely lunchtime surprise that was! Sometimes I get a bit bored of my usual ham or chicken sandwich and so this made the perfect change.

With that in mind, I've tried to recreate a salad that I think would be perfect for lunch. It can be eaten hot or cold, and the quantities are incredibly easy to scale up or down. In addition, you should be able to find all of the ingredients in your store cupboard or lurking at the bottom of the fridge! Perhaps more inventive salads will make their way into my head; but for now, this is satisfying enough. 

The photos here show a salad made for two people - just double the quantities below!

Storecupboard Noodle Salad (serves 1)
1 carrot, peeled and cut into batons
1/4 red pepper, batoned
1 handful Savoy cabbage, cut into strips
As many noodles as wished
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Sweet chilli sauce
Sesame seeds, for sprinkling
Cooked chicken pieces (optional)

1. Cook the noodles in a pan of hot water for a few minutes. Drain and place in a bowl. 
2. Steam the carrots, pepper and cabbage separately, over a pan of boiling water or in a microwave. Add to the noodles. (Add in the chicken, if using.)
3. Make the dressing by combining the soy sauce, oil and sweet chilli sauce in a ratio of 2:2:1. Drizzle the dressing over the noodles and sprinkle over the sesame seeds. Serve warm or cold.