Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Muffins

I’ve gotten to that very special point in my pregnancy where my body is starting to break down a little. I’m like a rocket ship re-entering the atmosphere, parts of me are just snapping off in the blaze as I hurtle full-tilt through the sky.

I’m not complaining. All things considered, I’ve had a pretty easy pregnancy thus far. This home stretch though… oof.

I’ve never been much of a trekkie but even I know enough cannon to imagine Scotty down in the hold going “she cannae take it, cap’n! We’re breakin’ up!”

I feel enormous. I can’t stand for long without my feet giving up. Everything is swollen. I wake up every morning with severe joint pain in my fingers from ‘pregnancy induced carpal tunnel’ (oh yeah, that’s a thing). I am in a constant state of ‘am I really hungry or do I feel nauseous?’ and most of the time, I feel both simultaneously. Glamorous, I tell you.

This will all be worth it, I know. We’re in the home stretch now.

Despite all of this, I’m finding it difficult to stay still and ‘rest.’ Everyone keeps telling me to rest, since I won’t be able to rest when the baby is finally here. I understand this logic, and I will rest a bit but like… you guys know that’s not how sleep works, right? I can’t just like, sleep for a month straight and then not sleep at all and be okay. You can’t bank sleep.

So- I cook. I have stocked my entire freezer with a variety of easy meals to get me through the first month or two. I have made lactation cookies (charmingly labelled ‘titty cookies’ in my freezer). Colin comes home to elaborate dinners each night.

And this is all after only three days of mat leave… what if this kid is overdue? What am I going to do with my time? What other weird symptoms will appear? I don’t even want to think about it. I’m too used to blowing through my days at max productivity, I need to learn to mosey again.

Anyone got Netflix recommendations?

Thankfully, it’s a great time of year for all of this. It’s sunny and warm- but not too warm- and we’re finally starting to get local produce in the shops again. My personal favourite at this time of year is rhubarb. It’s such a unique little veg (oh yes, it’s acts like a fruit, but I’m told it is a vegetable).

Last week I made a unique and delicious rhubarb salad, so this week it felt fitting to go back to basics and celebrate a classic pairing- strawberry and rhubarb. Since I’m not much of a pie crust wizard (yet), I tend to fall back on crisps and crumbles, but I also wanted to make something grab-and-go since we’re all officially on ‘baby standby’ now.

Muffins!

No doubt, we will eat all of these before this kid enters the world (but it’s always good to be prepared). The streusel topping on these takes these muffins to the next level, turning what could be your average (albeit moist and delicious) little muffin and making it something ‘extra’ (for almost no extra work).