in my studio | category | in my kitchen

Apr
22
2014

{giveaway} submit your creative work!

I absolutely love creative work! Drawings, paintings, model making, soap making, digital illustrations, photography, patchwork etc- pretty much anything pretty gets me excited. I also love seeing creative designs out there and encourage everyone to get crafty and imaginative.

So… I thought hey won’t it be cool to showcase your work with in my studio! If you’ve got talent, and would like to share your creative work, please email or message me your photos and you’ll be entered into our competition for a chance to win 2 wall decals courtesy of Simply Impressions! It doesn’t matter if you don’t have any background in design! You can be a mum, a student, a lawyer…everyone’s invited to participate. Lets make this fun! So what are you waiting for? Look through your art piles or creative something new; you have until Sunday 27th April to send in your work to me. All the best and I’m super duper excited to see your creations xx

PRIZE INFO

Winner will receive 2 wall decals, chosen by Simply Impressions worth up to $30. This prize is not redeemable for cash. This competition is sponsored by www.Simplyimpressions.com and is not affiliated with Facebook.

SUBMISSION

Terms and conditions:

Submissions are open from 22nd April to 27th April 2014. You MUST own copyright to the work, meaning, the work was made by YOU and not someone else.

All submission photos must be emailed to iva [at] inmystudio.com.au OR send via Facebook message.Do not upload it on Facebook and tag us. Strictly via email or message.

Entries are open worldwide. More than 1 entry per person is welcomed.

VOTING

Terms and conditions

Voting will commence on 28th April to 2nd May 2014.

All photos will be published on In my studio’s Facebook page and the public may vote.

The photo with the most amount of ‘likes’ will win the prize.

Only 1 Winner will be chosen & will be announced on Saturday 3rd May AEST.

2 lovely comments
Category: collaboration, freebies, giveaway, in my deen, in my kitchen, in my studio, in my world

Apr
17
2014

creamy garlic butter prawns

When you have 3 small kids, making dinner can be quite tough when you have 1 clingy baby, 1 throwing tantrum toddler and 1 demanding little girl. Some days, I just want to get dinner over and done with, so this is a perfect meal to make in just under 15 minutes. Although it looks simple, its packed full of flavour! If I find I have a bit extra time, I’ll make some steam veges on the side, or whip up a quick soup to go with it.

RECIPE FOR CREAMY GARLIC BUTTER PRAWNS

Servings: 2
Cook time: 10-15mins

Ingredients
2-3 clove garlic, crushed
1 – 2 tbsp butter
20 prawns, deveined (about 200g)
1 cup thickened cream (or less)
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tsp stock paste (if you’re using a liquid stock, you might need more cornflour to thicken it up)
Salt & pepper to taste

Method
1. Saute butter and garlic for a few minutes then add the cream and stock, cover and bring to a boil.
2. In a small bowl, mix 1 tbsp cornflour with 1 tbsp water then gradually add it to the cream mixture.
3. Add prawns in a single layer and cook for a minute on each side. Stir until sauce thickens.
3. Finally, serve hot with some white rice*

*Making rice will also take approx 15 minutes, so make the rice first before making your creamy garlic butter prawns. Your rice will be ready just in time when you finish cooking the prawns :)

No comments
Category: halal, in my kitchen, seafood

Apr
02
2014

malay chicken curry

I love curries. Especially Malaysian curries. There are so many curry variations out there but the ones I love most is this malay curry and mamak curry. Mamak curry is basically Indian curry but the difference is that mamak’s version is darker and spicier whereas malay curry is a lot more creamier and sort of yellowish in colour.

Malay curry goes really well with pulut kunyit (yellow sticky rice) but I didn’t have time to make it, so we just had white rice instead, with some prawn cracker and steamed pumpkins on the side. This recipe was kind of put together instinctively, so hopefully I can do justice with measurements because it tastes absolutely delicious. Its great for those who dont like their curries too spicy and want a creamier texture.

RECIPE FOR MALAY CHICKEN CURRY

Servings: 2
Cook time: 45mins

Ingredients
1/2 small onion, diced
1 tbsp Babas curry powder
300grams thigh/maryland pieces (use boneless if you wish)
1 clove
1 star anise
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 potato, quartered
2 tsp chicken stock paste/cube ( I use homemade asian stock paste)
½ cup coconut cream
1/2 cup water (more or less)
Salt to taste (be careful with salt if you’re already using stock)

Method
1. Heat oil and saute onions in a small to medium size pot. Add the spices and fry until fragrant for a couple of minutes.
2. Add the curry powder and chicken and cook until chicken is just cooked.
3. Add water, stock and potatoes. Cover and cook on medium heat for 15-20 mins.
3. Pour in coconut milk and season with salt. Simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Finally, serve with rice or pratha (roti/bread).

No comments
Category: asian, chicken, halal, in my kitchen

Mar
30
2014

homemade chicken nuggets

I was making chicken stock paste today when I realised I minced more chicken that I actually needed so I instantly thought of making some quick, homemade chicken nuggets using the extra chicken mince. Because why not? My kids love them. You can bake it if you want to opt for the healthy version but today I felt a bit naughty so I shallow fried them ;)

But please do not use chicken breast. Its dry! Use boneless chicken thigh or boneless maryland fillets, please… with a bit of fat :)

Since this recipe was made up by me, I basically just used my cooking instinct and whatever I had in the kitchen to put together this batch of nuggets, which surprisingly turned out better than what I had expected. Its full of flavour! Let me try and put the recipe into proper quantities…

RECIPE FOR HOMEMADE CHICKEN NUGGETS
Prep & cook time: 30minutes
Serves: 10 round patties (roughly 6cm diameter)

Ingredients

2 stalk spring onion (white part only)
1 clove garlic
1/2 carrot (you can add any type of veges you want)
1 inch leek
1 egg (halved in separate bowls)
300g boneless chicken thigh/maryland
1 cup Breadcrumbs mixed with 1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp mixed herbs (optional)

Method

1. In a food processor, add chicken , spring onion, garlic clove, carrot and leek and process until evenly minced.
2. Add add in half egg and salt & pepper then pulse until combined.
3. Heat some oil in a medium sized pan. (If baking, see method below**)
4. Roll and shape the chicken mince into nuggets. I made it into balls and gently flatten them with my thumb.
5. Dip all sides into the egg and then quickly cover it in breadcrumb mixture.
6. Lay them in the hot pan and slowly shallow fry the nuggets until golden brown.

**For a low calorie version, Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Place nuggets on a non stick baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes at 220 degrees Celsius.

No comments
Category: chicken, entree, halal, in my kitchen

Mar
29
2014

salted caramel popcorn

When my sister in law came over tonight and suggested we make ‘caramel popcorn’, I was reminded of my childhood days in Malaysia when we used to go to the cinemas & buy caramel popcorn. I don’t know why in Australia they only have 1 flavour – only salty popcorn, but in Malaysia they have a few different flavours, chocolate coated popcorn, caramel popcorn…mmm! This recipe is just a basic recipe my sister in law found, but its so gooey, crunchy and delicious!

RECIPE FOR SALTED CARAMEL POPCORN
Adapted from this recipe, with modifications

Ingredients
5 tbsp oil
1/2 cup popping corn

caramel:
100g butter
3/4 cup sugar
salt (to sprinkle over)

Method

1. Line a tray with baking paper. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 pieces of popping corn. If corn slowly turns around in a circle then oil is hot enough.
2. Add remaining popping corn. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. When corn starts popping, shake saucepan gently. Remove from heat when corn stops popping. Transfer to a large bowl, discarding any unpopped corn.
3. Make caramel: Combine butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Bring mixture to the boil. Boil, uncovered, without stirring, for 5 to 8 minutes or until light golden.
4. Remove from heat. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and stir until popcorn is coated. Sprinkle some salt over caramel. Set aside to cool. Break into pieces. Serve.