Our journey to modern off-grid living
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #177 • July/August/September, 2019
We’ve lived off the grid for decades. Throughout the years, we’ve traveled the path from living a very rustic lifestyle with few amenities to our current off-grid homestead...
Two beans and wild asparagus salad
Recipe of the Week
Two beans and wild asparagus salad
Courtesy of
Jackie Clay
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
1/2 cup cut wax beans
1/2 cup canned red kidney beans or other...
Build your own log home in the woods
By Jackie Clay
(Photos by Bill Spaulding and Jackie Clay)
Issue #72 • November/December, 2001
This is the third part of a three-part series.
The first two parts appeared in issues 70 and 71.
In the last two issues...
Building your chicken coop
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #139 • January/February, 2013
Here's a coop we built from pallets and scrap lumber. The goats lived in one end and the chickens lived in the other. It was free and worked...
Jackie’s Garden Primer
By Jackie Clay
Issue #117 • May/June, 2009
The birds are singing. The sunshine makes the day feel soft and warm. The soil is mellow and damp. It makes us feel like being outdoors and doing...
Tips and handy hints for 4X4 living
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Tips and handy hints
for 4X4 living
By Jackie Clay
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By Jackie Clay
Where Jackie lives, a 4x4 is essential
Issue #71 • September/October, 2001
After spending more than 35 years living in homesteads that were so out of the...
Can she bake an apple pie, Billy Boy?
By Jackie Clay
Issue #77 • September/October, 2002
Okay, I know in the song it's "cherry" pie, but what the heck, we all love apple pies, don't we? Unfortunately, few people bake good old fashioned apple...
Storing dry foods
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
More and more folks are starting to buy bulk foods to ensure if stores run out of foods — as they did at the onset of this epidemic — their families will...
Corn and nopalito salsa
Recipe of the Week
Corn and nopalito salsa
Courtesy of
Jackie Clay
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cooked sweet corn
1/2 cup chopped nopalitos
2 Tbsp. chopped sweet red pepper
1/4...
Harvesting the wild: Acorns
By Jackie Clay
Issue #79 • January/February, 2003
When I was just a little girl, I used to collect acorns by the boxfull as they fell in the fall. I didn't know why. They just felt...
Digging a shallow well
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #165 • May/June, 2017
When we first looked at the land which is now our off-grid homestead, the realtor mumbled an apology for an old gravel pit on the property from the...
Homemade pizza
Recipe of the Week
Homemade pizza
Courtesy of
Jackie Clay
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
3 cups flour
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. mixed spices (oregano, basil, onion flakes)
1-1/2 cups warm water
1...
Emergency planning beyond the bug-out bag
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #157 • January/February, 2016
In many emergency situations, simply staying home can be your most sensible choice. After all, most of us have stocked up on a good supply of food in...
Feeding large families without breaking the bank
By Jackie Clay
Issue #116 • March/April, 2009
Many of us have been there; for unforeseen reasons, suddenly we have a lot more people to cook for. With the economy melting down, jobs ending, and the...
Saving money on the homestead
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #148 • July/August, 2014
I come from a "penny-pinching-and-proud-of-it" family background and I learned the importance of saving a buck at an early age. Throughout my journey toward a self-reliant lifestyle, I've...
Avoiding common canning mistakes
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #142 • July/August, 2013
Canning has been an important part of my life since I was a young girl helping my mother and grandmother can in our Detroit basement. I loved the...
