In making Chinese dumplings recently, I have come across a useful shortcut. I used to chop fresh veggies for the dumpling mix but while I was at the store buying fresh spinach, it suddenly occurred to me that I could use frozen spinach.

Frozen spinach, how fantastic! It’s cheaper and possibly healthier too.

When I got home and cut open the bag of spinach, I was delighted to discover a third benefit. Instead of having a mass of spinach to melt, the spinach was very conveniently shaped into little truncated cones (also called frustrums or frustra). I could pick out only what I needed and store the rest away for later. Isn’t that clever!