Cooking with the family

Making bread and butter

Have your children ever asked how butter is made? Then we have the perfect project for you. Did you know you can make your own butter at home with just cream and a jam jar? This activity will take a little patience and some stamina in the arms as you shake and shake the cream in a jar, but it will all be worthwhile when, quite suddenly, you're shaking a lump of butter. Perfect to spread on freshly made soda bread, which you can make using the residual buttermilk that accompanies your fresh butter.

• Homemade butter

There are few things as hands-on and satisfying than making your own bread. Kids will love the kneading of that elastic mass of dough and marvel at the bread their effort makes. Bread-making can be quite a drawn out process, but Hugh's soda bread is very child-friendly, needing less of the waiting often associated with bread recipes. This bread uses buttermilk or yoghurt and baking soda instead of yeast as the active raising agent.

• Soda bread

Main meals

Getting the kids involved with the cooking is a great way to keep them entertained and get them tuned into the joys of cooking at an early age. The opportunity to help make the family's main meal gives them an exciting responsibility and, who knows, maybe this will lay the foundations for some marvelous Mother's and Father's day meals in the future?

These recipes are all delicious and simple to make, while integrating some interesting flavours, such as cinnamon and cumin, into the cooking. Don't be afraid of the 'spicy' titles of some of these dishes, they're fragrant and mild flavours rather than ferocious and child-scaring. If in doubt leave the chilli out.

• Spicy bean stew with sausages
• Creamy fish pie
• Spicy lamb pie
• Chicken curry
• Macaroni cheese with bacon
• Spanish omelette (tortilla)

Side dishes and light meals

These dishes are colourful, flavourful and fun. Ideal as light meals or side dishes to accompany the pies, omelette or macaroni cheese above.

• Roast onion family
• Vegetable fritters
• Green peas with roasted red peppers and chorizo
• Cheese straws

Desserts and cakes

The sweet, sticky spoons and sugary, creamy bowls of dessert and cake-making always have children hovering like gulls after a fishing boat. With these recipes Hugh helps you to exploit this natural resource of eager sweet-toothed curiousity by getting the kids baking. Custard ice cream, chocolate eclairs and chocolate chip cookies - it doesn't get much better than this.

• Custard ice cream
• Chocolate éclairs
• Chocolate chip cookies