I have been busy lately with pickling and canning since I acquired a new book (Asian Pickles by Karen Solomon), I was low on spices, so of course nothing is better than a visit to your local Chinese Grocery store, or two to stock up.

OK, I do have a tendency to save old jars from store bought products, well as long as they have the rubber seal on the lid and their lids are black or gold, no writing on them. I like thing to look orderly. Yes the little things matter to me, as my one girlfriend says, I put my "Martha" on.

Most people do not realize that their local Chinese grocer is a great place to pick up spices affordably, instead of those little bottles at the regular chain grocery store.

With my efforts I now have a well stocked spice cabinet, I will be able to do more pickling, make homemade chia and even a detox bath mix.

I am hoping the next time you drive by a Chinese grocery store, you may drop in, just to browse around, you never know what you may find there.

One little tidbit of info. If you buy Arrowroot, you can buy a 1 pound bag of either Tapioca Starch or Tapioca Flour for around a $1.00 at the Chinese store, they are all the same thing, just under different names.