Forget frittering fifty pounds on flowers or chucking cash at continental chocolates - cook something British for your Mum this Mothering Sunday (22 March).  It doesn't have to be time consuming or costly and the thought and effort shown by such a gesture will cement your standing as the favoured child.  If you are living at home think breakfast in bed, if you are visiting for the day pick up a local free range chicken and cook a Sunday Roast, if you are far away then send some homemade brownies in the post and if you are there at tea time - you've guessed it - bake a cake.  It is a truth universally acknowledged that the hardest thing about cooking is deciding what to create, so here are some ideas.

Breakfast

If you're planning breakfast in bed, consider avoiding crumbs all over the mattress and the inevitable grease infested washing-up of a fry-up, by cooking pancakes.  The February Love British Food newsletter has some great recipes [click here].

Lunch

A perfect seasonal starter would be Nettle Soup [click here]. If that sounds like too much hard work then try smoked trout pâté on oatcakes.
As for the main meal, you can't beat a traditional Sunday Roast.  There can only be a few exceptions, which are that your Mother is vegetarian or that you have grave concerns about cooking in her kitchen. If it is the former, try something like penne pesta with Yorkshire Feta, Spinach and Pesto [click here] If it is the latter, then pre-cook a Venison Casserole [click here] or Pork Hot Pot [click here] and take it with you - all you would then have to use is her oven. When cooking a Roast, firstly ensure that the meat is British, if you are not sure how to ascertain this, look at the Buying British section on Love British Food. Spring greens are a perfect accompaniment to any meat and are so easy to cook.  If roast potatoes fill you with dread then stick to new potatoes served with a dash of butter and a sprinkling of mint.
For pudding whip up a Gooseberry Fool [click here] or a Rhubarb Crumble [click here] both of which can be made in advance, if necessary.

Tea

To impress your Mother and make her feel extraordinarily special don't over-complicate tea.  Some simple fresh cucumber sandwiches on local if not self-baked bread and a Victoria Sponge cake dusted with icing sugar would have the maximum effect.  Alternatively, baking some scones or flapjacks takes a maximum of half an hour's effort and the end result is utterly delicious.  If you cannot be with your Mum on the day then how about making some simple shortbread biscuits [click here] and sending them to her in the post.

For a variety of different Roast Chicken recipes [click here]
For a variety of different Roast Lamb recipes [click here]
For a variety of different Roast Beef recipes [click here]
For a variety of different Roast Pork recipes [click here]
For a list of British Cake recipes [click here]