Instructions: Grilled steak is one of the original convenience foods, and in many ways it remains the champion. What else offers so much flavor and satisfaction with so little work? The best cuts of the best beef are so delicious that most attempts to improve them are pointless.

But not all steaks are in that class. And as great as a steak right off the grill can be, it is also somewhat predictable.

The easiest way to reckon with boredom - or the quality of the steak - is to use a spice rub. The possibilities include mild chili- or curry-based rubs and those using a little sugar, which helps the meat to brown. Even a rub of nothing more than good olive oil will do the trick.

But my favorite is a variation on a summertime herb mix I often use on lamb, a combination of what might be called Provencal seasonings, though in fact they are equally common throughout much of the Mediterranean, in California and, indeed, wherever there is decent weather and a good gardener.

The basic triumvirate is lavender, thyme and rosemary, and I augment that with fennel seeds, garlic and plenty of black pepper. The whole thing is held together with olive oil, and if you have a small food processor, it can be produced in little more than a minute.

The rub can be prepared while the grill is heating. Then spread it on the meat just before cooking. Extra marinating time does nothing for the flavor.

I like a relatively thin cut of meat, but one that can be sliced. Flank steak is ideal - first because it is best to keep the cooking time fairly short so the spices dont burn. And second, because I like to serve a well-flavored sliced steak like this over a pile of mixed salad greens sprinkled with a little lemon juice.

Fresh lavender can be hard to find if you dont know a gardener, but more and more stores, even supermarkets, stock it at this time of year. If you cannot find it, use a little bit of dried lavender.

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.