(copying and pasting from Instagram and still dictating the rest…)
Recovery from a significant surgery is not linear and it makes you rethink everything and adjust expectations to the new “you”.
Pre-surgery Mardi was always on the go, so busy all the time, telling herself she thrived on being busy. Everyone was so amazed she managed so many things at once! So even though the last few months everything felt like a lot, I told myself just to push through because that’s what I did.
Turns out what I was up against wasn’t really “push-throughable” and I wasn’t able to multitask as well as I used to. Now I’m recovering and off all my meds bar some painkillers, my body is realizing that it’s all up to IT. Recovery involves a lot of sleep and slowing down (such an alien concept to me!).
Case in point: typically I would power through four or five recipes in a weekend, sometimes more. Multitasking different steps of different recipes at the same time. I mean, that’s how I managed to write my cookbooks on top of a full-time job! Weekends were my playtime in the kitchen!
The new Mardi approached next week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe from Baking with Dorie in a bit more of a reasonable fashion…
Rhubarb-Bottom, Strawberry-Top Tart from Baking with Dorie has three different components (pastry shell, strawberry pastry cream, poached rhurab/ syrup), and I actually made them on three different days! This is very unlike me, but I’m listening to my body and one session in the kitchen per day is about enough! So I made the pastry on one day, the strawberry pastry cream on another, and poached the rhubarb on another. Then, all I had to do was assemble!
The good news is that on a Sunday night, we had a beautiful strawberry-topped rhubarb tart for dessert – of course, I made two tiny ones, so Neil and I had half each and the other tart was divided between the generous friends who gave me rhubarb from their gardens!
Who knew how relaxing dividing up a recipe over a couple of days would be?
I loved this tart but even though I used more rhubarb than the recipe called for, it was barely discernable. I wonder if instead of using an all-strawberry purée in the pastry cream, we could add a little rhubarb next time. In any case – strawberry pastry cream was a revelation! And yes, I added a couple of the optional drops of food colouring because strawberry pastry cream is kind of beigy-pink and wasn’t too pretty!
Get the recipe for Rhubarb-Bottom, Strawberry-Top Tart on p 283 of Baking with Dorie
Buy Baking with Dorie and join us baking through the book!
Buy Baking with Dorie on Amazon (this link should bring you to the Amazon store geographically closest to you). For free worldwide shipping, buy it on Blackwell’s. To support your local Indie bookstore, purchase on Bookshop.org.
Then join us over on Tuesdays with Dorie and bake your way through the book!
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Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of “Baking with Dorie” for review purposes. I was not asked to write about the book, nor am I being compensated for doing so. All opinions are 100% my own.
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It looked great and I could taste it from down under. Great.
And keep that recovery on an upward curve.
how cute! best part about breaking up a recipe like this is fewer dishes to wash in one day 🙂
Glad to see you are still improving and learning to embrace the slower pace 😍. Tart looks great!
Your tarts turned out great, and I am with you on the food colouring- it looks more attractive. I hope your recovery continues to go well.
I am glad that you are on the road to recovery. I love your little tarts, so cute. I was unable to find rhubarb the week that I made mine.
I’m glad you’re taking it slow and taking care of yourself! I also took several days to make the tart- It is much more relaxing that way!
100% this!