Makes approx 3 dozen

* 1/2 cup real butter

* 1/2 cup brown sugar

* 2 Tbsp. dried Sweet Lavender flowers (3-4 Tbsp. fresh flowers)

* 1 large egg

* 2 Tbsp. milk

* 1 tsp. vanilla extract

* 1 cup oatmeal

* 1 1/2 cups white flour

* 3/4 tsp. baking powder

* 1 generous cup good chocolate chips

Bowl 1: Blend butter, sugar & Lavender until smooth. Add egg, milk & vanilla in next.

Bowl 2: Blend oatmeal, flour, and baking powder together; add in your chocolate chips to this dry mix.

Blend both mixes together to form soft dough. (If it is too sticky, add a bit more flour.) Place by teaspoons onto baking tray. Set oven @ 350° F Bake 10 minutes for soft cookies, 15 mins for crisp ones.

OPTIONAL: Add 3 or 4 pieces of crystallized ginger finely chopped OR zest of one orange. OR: 1 cup nuts, raisins, coconut OR dried sweetened cranberries. FOR A CHOCOLATE dough base: Add ½ cup of cocoa powder in with flour & sugar and decrease the chocolate chip amount slightly. From http://www.happyvalleylavender.com

I LOVE THE FARMERS’ MARKET! Here is a website that lists all of them in MA:

Massachusetts Farmers Markets

This is the first week I’ve made it to the farmer’s market when they have a nice selection of veggies. I got some nutty cousa squash, globe zucchini, and pattypan squash. The pattypans were tiny and I just sliced off the tops and bottoms and grilled them whole, along with the rest of the squash. I also had some chicken breast that I cut into strips and grilled with lavender, rosemary and thyme. We had the usual baby red potatoes, boiled then grilled for starch. Paul tried his hand at making the salad dressing tonight; a simple balsamic and EVOO for the herb salad with a healthy handful of fresh dill and parsley. Everything was FRESH and f*ing delicious.

It was super easy:

2 globe zucchini, cut lengthwise and into 1/2 inch slices
2 cousa squash, cut in 1/2 inch slices, diagonally
5 mini pattypans, with the tops and bottoms trimmed off
S&P
EVOO

Mix everything together in a bowl. Use hands to mix EVOO and S&P in real nice. Grill it up for 6 minutes, turning once.

1 1/3 lb no hormone fed, organic chicken breast, sliced into strips
1 Tbs. dried lavender buds (get from a culinary source like your local food co-op that has it in bulk, NEVER from a crafts or florist shop)
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. dried thyme
S&P
EVOO

Grind the herbs in a mortar and pestle, then sprinkle on chicken, add S&P, EVOO and mix well by hand in a bowl. Grill for 7 minutes.