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...

Solar Building Design

By Steven Heckeroth Issue #63 • May/June, 2000 Solar building design has been used since ancient times. In the more recent past, it has been more or less ignored as impractical, complicated, or too expensive. Incorporating...

Glazed spiced mocha brownies

Recipe of the Week  Glazed spiced mocha brownies  Courtesy of Richard Blunt   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients soft shortening 5 oz. bittersweet chocolate 6-1/2 oz. unsalted butter 1/8 tsp. kosher salt 1/2 tsp. powdered, instant...

Twice Cooked Pork

Recipe of the Week  Twice Cooked Pork  Courtesy of Connor Brown  Ingredients 1 pound boneless pork butt 8 ounces chicken broth 2 tablespoons cooking oil 8 small dried red chillies 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 3 scallions, cut into 1-in...

Apples and sweet potatoes

Anne Westbrook Dominick Ingredients 3 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1 Tbsp. lemon juice 1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 cup apple juice, cider or vinegar 1 Tbsp. melted butter Method Mix apples and lemon juice. In a baking...

The fire wick fire starter

By Len McDougall Issue #114 • November/December, 2008 When my hunting buddy Dar met me for lunch at our rendezvous point, he said he doubted we could make a small cookfire on the wet, snow-covered ground....

Old-fashioned hot dog pepper relish

Recipe of the Week  Old-fashioned hot dog pepper relish  Courtesy of Richard Blunt   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 3 cups seeded and coarsely chopped bell peppers (use a mixture of yellow,...

Dehydrating eggs at home

By Patrice Lewis Issue #156 • November/December, 2015 Here's a trivia question for you: What do you do when your chickens are laying gangbusters and you have no less than 10 dozen eggs in the fridge,...

Pickled Sweet Green Tomatoes

Recipe of the Week  Pickled Sweet Green Tomatoes  Courtesy of Jessica Sackmann  Ingredients 16 cups green Tomatoes, sliced ( 10 to 11 lbs.) 2 cups Onions, sliced ¼ cup canning or pickling Salt 4 cups Vinegar (5%) 3 cups brown Sugar 1...

“Gun control” for dummies

By Massad Ayoob Issue #141 • May/June, 2013 Barack Obama, outspokenly anti-gun for his entire political career, fooled an amazing number of gun owners by keeping a "hands off" attitude toward Second Amendment issues until his...

The saga of Benjamin, the backwoods, homeschool boy who wanted to get a job

By Margaret Wright Issue #37 • January/February, 1996 Raised in the woods of Northern Idaho, home schooled by loving, protective parents, he was a happy, carefree child for the first sixteen years of life. The sixteenth...

Masala jheenga

Recipe of the Week  Masala jheenga  Courtesy of Richard Blunt   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 1-1/2 tsp. white poppy seeds 2 lbs. medium-sized raw shrimp (about 30-35 shrimp per lb.) 1/2...

Solar Power 101 — Solar arrays

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #90 • November/December, 2004 This article is the fourth and final part of our beginner's course in solar electricity. Simultaneously we have instituted a Home Energy Information (www.homeenergy.info) section on...

Use Old Newspapers to Make Your Starter Pots

By Darlene Polachic Issue #49 • January/February, 1998 Why spend money buying plant starter packs when you can make all you need from old newspapers? The added benefit of these newspaper pots is that they can...

Woodstove cooking

By Cindi Myers Issue #127 • January/February, 2011 If you have a woodstove for heat, take advantage of the fire to cook your dinner for no extra cost and very little effort. The heat of a...

Teach speed reading to your children even if you can’t speed read yourself

By George Stancliffe Issue #59 • September/October, 1999 For over two years, I have had the hobby of teaching speed reading to people in the community where I live. So far I have taught over 300...