This past summer was Little A's first official long vacation. Taking my impulsive nature I didn't plan ahead for what we'd do in the coming months; we decided to go with the flow - taking each day as it came. Thankfully, Little A was occupied with many activities we did at home in the mornings and by the evening his friends would be over to play. In Dubai it is kind of claustrophobic playing indoors all the time; really something not that we used to do as kids. However, we didn't had much choice of taking children to the parks or indulging in outdoor activities everyday considering the climate. We were still very happy having them play in the corridor for a couple of hours instead of whaling their time away at home or grabbing smart devices when bored. I also consciously decided to limit screen time as much as I could. Not that I completely stopped Little A from watching his favorite cartoons on TV or Peppa Pig but that was far and in between, only in the time of necessity. I loved to watch him get close to his peers, learn a deal about sharing and mainly being happy all the time amongst people of his age. Well, at three years I don't expect him not to throw tantrums occasionally, though it was far less worrying
While that was all still going on, I suddenly decided to have an impromptu play-date at home to keep these boys slightly occupied and make their day more interesting. It wasn't a cooking play-date but since most of the children love to assist in stirring a spoon and knew it is was pretty much likely of them to want snacks at one point in time during their play, I let them prepare their own muffins and canapes. It was fun to see their enthusiasm in mixing the batter, pouring it into the pans, assembling the canapes and lastly enjoy the food they made themselves.
This was actually our first play-date at home, and certainly not the last considering how much amusing it was to entertain these little souls. On the second half of our time, I kept the ingredients all ready for the boys to help me in the kitchen. It is always good to think of the recipes that are not too complicated, involve some kinds of assembling to fill their time and aim for those that have few ingredients to work with. Little A was beyond excited when he heard his friends are coming to spend a day with him at home. On the day of the play-date, I pre-prepared the canapes mixture, which doesn't really take much time. All they had to do was help me with mixing the muffin batter and while they baked, kids assembled the canapes and arranged them in a tray.
These caramelized onion mushroom canapes are pretty small bites of crispy and creamy deliciousness, perfect not only for children but also for adult picnics and parties to serve as an appetizer. Just a little caution to not prepare them far too early as the canapes tend to turn soggy if kept for a long time. Though, it doesn't take long enough to gather them together when guests are home.
Ingredients :
- Canapes - 20
- Button mushrooms - 300 gms
- Onions - 3, thinly sliced
- Brown sugar - 2 tsp
- Balsamic vinegar - 2 tbsp
- Soy sauce - 1 tsp
- Chilli garlic sauce - 1 tsp (adjust more for spicy flavor)
- Tomato ketchup - 2 tsp
- Pepper to taste
- Sesame oil - 2 tsp
- Add salt only if required. I only added a pinch while caramelizing onions, rest as provided from the sauces.
For herbed Labneh :
- Labneh - 6 tbsp
- Crushed oregano, thyme and basil - 2 tsp, all mixed together
- Pepper to taste.
Method :
In a wok, heat a teaspoon oil. Add onions and saute until it turns translucent. Mix in brown sugar and salt; and leave on slow flame to caramelize. It should approx. take 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile remove the stalks of mushroom, brush them clean and thinly slice them. Remove caramelized onions in a bowl and keep aside. In a wok add the remaining oil and mushroom. Cook the mushrooms on medium heat stirring them continuously until they are cooked, without adding any water as mushroom leave water and cook on its own. Add the sauces and caramelized onions after the mushroom water has completely evaporated. Saute for another couple minutes and turn off the heat when the mixture come together. In a bowl mix labneh and herbs (crushed all in a mortar and pestle). Stir well and check for salt. Arrange the canapes and assemble first with caramelized onions mushroom mix and later top with a teaspoon of labneh. Serve immediately.
