Our Guide to Mother's Day

Treat your mother (and every mother you know) extra special this coming Mother's Day weekend. We cater many kinds of events and we really get to know mothers when we plan our custom menus. We've met some really cool ladies who inspire us and we thought of them as we put together this guide.

While many of the businesses we mention are local to New York, we hope you can learn something new below. Read on for brunch tips, flower alternatives, and long-distance gift ideas for the moms in your life.

Keep It Seasonal

We like to check out local farmer's markets for what is in season, that's what is going to taste the best around Mother's Day. In NYC, we check GrowNYC's Union Square Farmer's Market and Down to Earth Markets every week.

For May, you can expect to find these vegetables (and more, you never know!). We've also included some "no recipe" recipes for you to try:

• Asparagus: Cut off the hard woody end and simply steam it. Drizzle with a little truffle oil and shave a ton of Parmesan cheese over them.
• Lettuces: Quarter the lettuce head and remove the core. Serve the wedges with blue cheese dressing and crumbled bacon.
• Radishes: Wash the radishes well, trim off any greens that are broken and wilted. Serve them with cultured butter, sea salt, and thick crusty bread.
• Rhubarb: Mix 2 pounds rhubarb batons on a parchment lined baking sheet with a mixture of 2/3 pounds sugar and 1/3 pound juice. Nicola Lamb recommends blood orange juice. Roast at 325F for 12 to 15 minutes until syrupy.
• Scallions: Heat 1/2 cup canola oil in a pan over medium heat for 2 minutes, until you see it swirl. Chop 2 bunches of scallions and put them in a heatproof bowl. Carefully pour the hot oil over it. Use it as a topping for soup, rice, or proteins.
• Spinach: Blend spinach with garlic, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, and olive oil to make pesto. Season to taste with salt.
• Summer Squash (crookneck, pattypan, zucchini, and yellow): Shave soft-skinned squash thin with a mandoline and treat them like carpaccio with a nice olive oil based vinaigrette.

Give Her (Edible) Flowers

What better way to herald spring and make your dishes look pretty? Add a pop of color with edible flower garnishes on your desserts, drinks, and salads. Avoid putting flowers on hot foods or they will wilt. Don't go picking flowers from the sidewalk because you don't know what they might have been sprayed with or if a furry friend has taken a break nearby.

Source edible flowers from reputable places that don't use pesticides. We often look to Farm One, an edible flower and microgreen vertical garden in Brooklyn. In May, you might also find rare flowering vegetables at the farmer's market like ginger, broccoli, squash blossoms, peas, dill, thyme, mustard, and chives.

We looked into the meanings behind some of our favorite edible flowers:

• Begonias offer consideration and good communication. They were typically given when returning a favor (motherhood, the biggest favor!).
• Borage lends courage, emotional fortitude, and joy.
• Chamomile provides a boost of good luck and positivity.
• Dianthus means love and affection.
• Marigolds symbolize power, strength, and light.
• Mustard brings renewal, resilience, and hope.
• Oxalis (aka shamrock) is good luck, hope, and faith.
• Pea flowers are harbingers of peace.
• Yarrow brings healing and love.

Hosting Tips

Whether you're hosting at home or elsewhere, keep these things in mind when inviting mom.

• Make it smell nice. Either bake some cookies or light a fancy candle (if it's allowed) to welcome her to the space.
• If you don't have the room or don't want to host at your home, take it outdoors if the weather is favorable. Always make sure mom can get to your destination and can sit comfortably. Bring blankets and cushions to parks or scout out parks for picnic tables. Baby wipes and hand santizer are helpful if a sink isn't close by to wash up.
• If you don't want her to judge your place, host at a friend's house or look into private rooms at bars or restaurants. For the latter, ask if you are allowed to bring decor and outside food, like cake.
• Don't let her clean! Hire some help to wash dishes and tidy up so you can enjoy spending time with mom. Try as we might to stop our moms from cleaning, if you say you paid for it, she might actually sit down so your money isn't wasted.

Class It Up

Instead of (or in addition to) brunch, think about activities mom would enjoy. Classes are an excellent way to learn something new and spend time together.

For the epicure: Is she always asking about the next meal while she's eating? Mom might enjoy some culinary adventures.

• Take her on a food crawl. Map out a few places in the same neighborhood or of the same cuisine so she can try as much as she can.
• Your local culinary school may have knife skills, sommelier, bread baking, and cake decorating classes available. The Institute of Culinary Education has campuses in Los Angeles and New York, and if you don't live in either place, there are plenty of online courses on Masterclass.
• Check your local cheese shop for pairings classes. We like the sessions at Murray's Cheese because they serve generous portions and pack a lot of information in a short amount of time.

For the one who likes to walk: Help her get her steps in!

• Walk with a goal in mind, like a treat or a meal as a reward at the end.
• Look for botanical gardens, public parks, excellent views, and unique public art. Bear in mind that all that walking also means you'll need water, somewhere to sit, and restroom breaks. Plan accordingly every 30 to 45 minutes.
• Pack a spare phone battery, sunscreen, light snacks, sunglasses, and hats.
• Have a backup plan for indoor activities like museums, restaurants, or movies, if you get too tired or the weather turns.

For the artist: Craft workshops are excellent for moms who want to bring something beautiful home.

• Taking a class about flower arranging is better than receiving a bouquet of flowers because it's a skill you can keep using! Ikebana is a Japanese style of floral arranging rooted in "mindful creativity." Paula Tam teaches publicly and privately in the NYC area. For more of a 101-style workshop, check out the American School of Flower Design.
• Pottery is a fun, hands-on activity, as long as mom doesn't mind getting a little dirty. BKLYN Clay hosts a "tryday" in their workshop for throwing clay.

Gifts from Far Away

If you aren't able to see your mom on Mother's Day, you can still tell her you're thinking of her with a cool gift.

• We like to surprise our relatives with deliveries from Goldbelly.com, a specialty food mail ordering service that ships to the domestic United States and Canada. Does your mom have a favorite restaurant or cuisine she craves, but doesn't live near it? Check if they can ship her favorite dish from Goldbelly.
• Customizable gifts abound on Etsy, a marketplace for crafted goods and art supplies. We've curated a list of cool gift ideas in this collection.
• We mentioned Murray's Cheese classes, but if you can't make it, they also sell fully composed cheese boards that can be mailed and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• While we love flowers, they tend to wilt quickly after a few days. Why not send mom a plant that will live on? We like the plantable greeting cards from Cute Root, that way there's no paper waste and it will grow her something that will last. You can also choose from mail order seedlings and fully grown plants from The Sill, as well as succulents from Planet Desert. If she has an active garden, choose non-GMO seeds from Park Seed that will grow well where she lives.

No matter how you celebrate the moms in your life this weekend, we hope they feel the love.

Disclosure: When you buy through our affiliate links, we may earn a commission. We have not been compensated otherwise for our recommendations.