Pumpkin preserves

Recipe of the Week  Pumpkin preserves  Courtesy of Jackie Clay   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 4 lbs. pumpkin 2 lemons sugar 1/2 tsp. each, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg pinch salt Method Mash the pumpkin and lemon meat in...

Medical kits for self-reliant families

By Jackie Clay Issue #60 • November/December, 1999 There may be a time, as close as tomorrow, when your loved ones need medication or medical treatment and there is no drug store open or doctor available....

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...

The perfect holiday meal

By Jackie Clay Issue #108 • November/December, 2007 There are no cultures in the world, nor have there been, that did not have feast days. From prehistoric times to yesterday, food has always played an important...

Quince preserves

Recipe of the Week  Quince preserves  Courtesy of Jackie Clay   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 3 cups sugar 2 qts. water 7 cups pared, cored, quartered quinces Method When preparing quinces, discard all gritty parts....

Your survival depends on water

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #167 • September/October, 2017 As you develop your preparedness plans, consider your water supply. You can go without food for weeks but when you lack water for as little as two days,...

Chilies rellenos

Recipe of the Week  Chilies rellenos  Courtesy of Jackie Clay   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 8 large Big Jim, Poblano, or Relleno chilies, green and roasted 1 16-oz. can tomatoes 1 small onion,...

Canning meat plus how to use your canned meat

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Although we have a big freezer, I can up most of our meat. We raise beef cattle, turkeys, chickens, and we hunt, so we have a lot of meat. (Besides that, I...

Put Your Garden to Bed for the Winter

By Jackie Clay Issue #95 • September/October, 2005 During the crispy fall afternoons, we listen often and intently to the weather forecasts. "It's going to be clear tonight," I'd tell my late husband, Bob, and my...

Lazy housewife pickles

Recipe of the Week  Lazy housewife pickles  Courtesy of Jackie Clay   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 4 qts. small cucumbers 1 cup dry mustard 1 cup sugar 1 cup salt 1 gallon vinegar Method Wash the cucumbers,...

Goat birthing and raising kids

By Jackie Clay Issue #112 • July/August, 2008 Dairy goats form one of the cornerstones of our homestead. Not only do they provide milk, cheese, ice cream, cottage cheese, and meat, but they also give us...

Fail-proof white bread

Recipe of the Week  Fail-proof white bread  Courtesy of Jackie Clay   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 1 Tbsp. dry yeast 1/2 cup warm water 1/2 tsp. honey 4 cups hot water 3 Tbsp. shortening 1 Tbsp....

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...

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...

Jackie’s tips for hardcore homesteading

By Jackie Clay Issue #62 Many of us have a garden and enjoy fresh vegetables during the summer and fall. Maybe we even have a few chickens for eggs and meat. But many of us may...

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...