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Scan the menus of Chinese restaurants in Canada, from small towns to big cities, and on many of them you’ll see egg foo yung. Some describe it as an American-Chinese hybrid.

Over the years, I’ve learned that an ordinary-tasting chicken breast can be transformed into something quite gourmet if you prepare it with a bold and balanced mix of ingredients. And that’s exactly what happened when I cooked up today’s recipe.

I you have leftover baked ham from Easter dinner, an always-popular way to use some of it up the next day or two is in sandwich. They can be pretty simple, ham, lettuce, mustard and not much else, or more fanciful, even in their name.

A reader, Cynthia, suggested I do a column on reducing baking recipes.

Fresh B.C. halibut is in season and for today’s column I used fillets of that fish to create an appealing Mediterranean-style dinner for two. Cooking the fish was easy.

When deciding what to cook for this column, I checked the forecast and rain was predicted. A good reason to stay inside and prepare comfort food, I thought, so I headed to my kitchen and made goulash.

For those who’ve followed my column over the years, you’ll know one of my favourite ways to prepare fish is to wrap it in phyllo.

Sometimes the best lunches are simple ones, such as a nice bowl of soup — one that’s comforting, hearty and rib-sticking and goes great with a thick slice of your favourite bread.

When my wife and I were first courting, we’d cook and introduce each other to dishes we liked to eat. One she first prepared for me was stuffed zucchini.

A casserole filled with saucy, bubbling hot chicken always makes for a fine Sunday dinner. The options are many, from cacciatore to coq au vin.