In the interests of leading a full and meaningful life, I am keen to commit as little time as possible cutting vegetables into tiny cubes. This tedious activity is occasionally necessary to make a “hidden vegetable” dish of some kind. Motivated by concern and guilt that, in the last 48 hours, a child (or children) you are responsible for may only have eaten yoghurt and crackers, you ensure vegetables enter the digestive tract by cutting them into such small pieces they go unnoticed. Helpfully, to achieve the same without all that chopping, and in the case of celery, the equally fussy “de-stringing” bit, you can buy “Soffrito mix” from Waitrose (fresh or frozen) or frozen “Vegetable base mix” from Morrison’s, Asda, or Sainsbury’s which contain pre-cubed onion, carrot, and celery. These are great for making all kinds of pasta sauces or soups, saving prep time and sanity.