Lavender Crusted Pork Chops

My dream as a child was to grow up, get married and live in the country where one of my first priorities would be to let down my hair, put on a summer dress and run free whilst sprinkling wild flower seeds over every inch of my property. Reality check...that hasn't happened yet; well at least the running through fields of flowers part. But I do still have some kind of romantic fantasy of looking outside my kitchen window at a field full of wild flowers.

  My closest encounter to that experience was visiting the Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm in Maui earlier this year. The rows and rows of beautiful purple blossoming lavender kept me grinning from ear to ear. And the smell, oh the smell, robust, earthy and sweet all in the same note. My fantasy field of flowers now includes tons and tons of lavender plants. And since I am still waiting for my dream to materialize I decided I could do the next best thing; cook with it...lavender that is. I have been trying to incorporate it in a variety of ways: salad dressings, marinades, desserts, etc. Which is why I am so excited about sharing this recipes with you. 

 For this recipe I purchased some culinary lavender online and I am sure that some specialty markets may even carry it as well. So don't go picking your neighborhood landscaping lavender, you gotta get the cooking kind.

Lavender Crusted Pork Chops

Ingredients

4 pork chops

1 teaspoon course salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1-2 teaspoons dried culinary lavender

4 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

In a small bowl combine salt, pepper, lavender, thyme, rosemary and olive oil. Rub mixture liberally over chops. Cover and let sit overnight or at least 4 hours. 

Once ready to cook your pork chops heat your skillet over medium high heat and cook the pork until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F. If cooking cover a grill, BBQ until meats internal temperature reaches at least 155 degrees F. Serve and enjoy!