We shop for groceries with the best of intentions. We load our carts with piles of fresh vegetables, fruits and whole foods. Then the realities of life settle in. The weeks get ahead of us. Other things take precedent over cooking.

So, one night, we peek in the 'fridge facing rice milk five days past its expiration date and farm stand tomatoes that are sprouting fuzzy, Muppet-like growths. That's when you know it's time to use it or lose it.

Faced with past-its-prime, extra-firm tofu, a softish onion and a few spotty-but-salvageable zucchini that I had had every intention of using up the week before last, I ad-libbed this dinner. First, I pressed the tofu and dry-fried it in my wok, along with a splash of tamari. I sauteed the zucchini and onion in olive oil along with plenty of garlic and a swan-song bunch of basil from my windowsill plant. While I would not publish the recipe on my blog or in my next cookbook, the result was truly tasty. And it saved me from tossing the tofu.