Protein — The Cornerstone of a Survival Diet
By Jackie Clay
Issue #111 • May/June, 2008
It goes without saying that preparedness is not for "radicals" or "weirdos" anymore. I picked up a preparedness leaflet at the County Agent's office last week and another...
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...
Garden Seeds — A Great Winter Pastime
By Jackie Clay
Issue #67 • January/February, 2001
Start your garden this year while the snow is still on the ground. I start all of my own plants from seeds. One of my favorite winter pastimes...
How we found our remote backwoods home
By Jackie Clay
Issue #65 • September/October, 2000
Right now I'm sitting in a south-facing huge, sunny window, looking through our own private valley to a larger mountain valley below and the pine covered mountains beyond....
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
Ginger beer
Recipe of the Week
Ginger beer
Courtesy of
Jackie Clay
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
4 oz. dried ginger root
1 gallon water
juice from...
Honey whole wheat bread
Recipe of the Week
Honey whole wheat bread
Courtesy of
Jackie Clay
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbsp. dry yeast
1/2 tsp. honey
2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. salt
2...