lemon rosemary pork chops with arugula salad

Today I have a grilled pork chop recipe with lemon, garlic and rosemary. I served them with a simple arugula salad with Pecorino cheese and lemon. Plus a bit about being too busy.

I’ll get to this pork chop and arugula salad in a sec, but first I want to say something about being too busy. Because, I feel like you are all along with me on this little journey of self-reflection and transition. I think it started with this Mother’s Day post about my way too busy schedule. I feel like I progressed a bit here with this cup of tea salad post. Like a weight was lifted in a way.

And now we are here today. This morning, my husband forwarded this post by Seth about two kinds of busy on to me. And once again I am struck with the profound truth of his words in reflecting on my journey with being busy. Pop over there and read it. It is really short, and then come right back to discuss.

Hi, you’re back. Awesome right? Dude is smart.

I know that “type one busy.” I crave it and love it. It happens when I am teaching BodyPump. It is like an escape even though I have to be “on” the entire time. Like one area of my brain is so focused on what I am doing that the rest of my brain can relax for a whole hour.

The type two busy, is how the rest of my life is. Even when I am supposed to be relaxing my brain is still on. I am always in two places, solving problems making lists. Nothing I do seems to get my full focused attention. I feel guilty about something at all times.

I am over being bummed about it. Instead, now I am feeling optimistic and I feel like I am on the cusp of something with this whole being way too busy thing. Like right now, as we speak. Today.

I feel like reducing some of the multitasking (type two busy) will come for me when I start to prioritize that which is important and that which isn’t. And maybe I need to say goodbye to that which isn’t. For now at least.

Here are some things that ARE priorities for me right now.

• Professionally, I am planning to start using my cup of tea scale not just to choose content for the blog. But also to make sure that I am saying yes to the projects that make sense to me. I can’t say yes to everything, so I need to start saying no to the things that aren’t aligned with my goals. You’ll notice in my bio, I am now a “recovering food stylist” and I have removed my food styling gallery from my main site navigation. I am not forever hanging up my tweezers. But for now I am saying no.
• In my personal life, a big priority shift is to spend time sitting on the lawn looking at this amazing site (and heres the big thing) and enjoy the moment. Being there fully…Not thinking about something that is happening elsewhere while I am supposedly relaxing. Leaving my phone somewhere else (anywhere other than in my hand.) Its like being type one relaxing. All in. I like the sound of that!
•  How about this one: Spending time on the porch. With my hubs, and with my sissy and with my brother in law at our new cottage. Eating awesome meals. Staying up too late. Drinking wine. Laughing loudly.
• Waking up early and fishing.
• Finding inspiration outside what I am currently comfortable with. This sounds like a potential time suck, but I think it is impossible to move beyond where I currently am if I am only looking around in the same space for ideas and inspiration over and over.  Being creative should come more easily (and in less time) if I am inspired.
• Carrying the peace from my free time into my work week.

This meal is one I made on one of our first nights in our lake cottage. I mashed garlic and salt into a paste. I mixed it with lemon zest and rosemary and spread it over some lovely heritage pork chops. We grilled them and had them with spicy as heck arugula and shaved pecorino cheese. It was simple unencumbered food. Hopefully it will serve to be an inspiration for how my life is shifting to be.

QUESTIONS

Do you have any tips for how prioritize your time?

Do you feel like you’re better off being type one busy or type two busy more?

What kind of simple unencumbered meals are you having this simmer?

Happy Cooking!

~Katie

lemon rosemary pork chops with arugula salad

• Author: Katie Webster
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Main Course
• Method: Grilling
• Cuisine: American

★★★★★

5 from 9 reviews

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Description

Grilled pork chops with garlic, lemon and rosemary paste with simple arugula salad dressed with lemon and olive oil, topped with shaved Pecorino Toscano cheese.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt, plus a pinch
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons chopped rosemary
• 4 bone-in pork chops, about 1.75 pounds
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 4 cups baby arugula
• 1 ounce Pecorino Toscano or Pecorino Romano cheese

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Instructions

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. Mince garlic. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt over the garlic and mash with the side of a chef’s knife to create a paste. Set ¼ teaspoon of the paste aside in a large bowl and add the remaining pinch of salt. Scrape the remaining garlic paste into a small dish. Add lemon zest and rosemary and stir to combine.
3. Rub rosemary mixture over both sides of the pork chops. Sprinkle with pepper. Grill Pork chops until just barley pink in the center, 3 to 5 minutes per side.
4. Whisk lemon juice, olive oil and Dijon in the large bowl with the garlic paste. Add arugula. Toss to coat. Serve pork chops with the arugula and top with the Pecorino.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 porkchop, 3/4 cup salad
• Calories: 302
• Fat: 14 g
• Saturated Fat: 5 g
• Carbohydrates: 4 g
• Fiber: 3 g
• Protein: 43 g