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Fermented dill pickles

Recipe of the Week Fermented dill pickles Courtesy of Olivia Miller You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 50-60 smooth small cucumbers 1 oz. whole mixed spices dill 1 lb. pure salt 1 gallon water 1 pint cider...

Solar suitcase

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #150 • November/December, 2014 Completed solar suitcase project From time to time, people call to ask what we have for emergency solar power suitable for a bug-out bag. Naturally, my first...

Broccoli and Ziti

Recipe of the Week Broccoli and Ziti Courtesy of Oliver Del Signore Walk into almost any restaurant that claims to serve Italian food and you will likely find on the menu broccoli coupled with some pasta, usually ziti...

Beef & Wild Mushroom Lasagna

Recipe of the Week Beef & Wild Mushroom Lasagna Courtesy of Gail Strong Ingredients 1 pound lean ground beef 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 pound assorted wild mushrooms (such as shiitake, oyster and cremini), sliced 1/4 teaspoon salt 1...

The ‘risks’ with Swine Flu

By John Silveira Issue #118 • July/August, 2009 Do we have anything to worry about the reemergence of Swine Flu Novel Influenza A (H1N1) this fall? The short answer is: Probably not. There are...

Getting the state out of marriage

By John Silveira Issue #127 • January/February, 2011 There's a new TV "reality" show on TLC called Sister Wives. It's about a polygamous family: Kody Brown, his 3 wives, their 13 children, and a soon-to-be (maybe...

The art of living in small spaces

By Claire Wolfe Issue #92 • March/April, 2005 Long ago, I read that to live in the country you must have the soul of a poet, the dedication...

Biological & chemical terrorism

By Dave Duffy Issue #73 • January/February, 2002 More than 5,000 American civilians lay entombed in the World Trade Center wreckage and more than 20,000 are taking antibiotics to fight off anthrax. America wages war against...

Woodchuck-Proof the Garden

By Setanta O'Ceillaigh  Issue #160 • July/August, 2016 The cycle never ends: As soon as one garden pest is dealt with, another takes its place. Last...

Build a cistern out of corrugated road culvert

By Joe Mooney Issue #146 • March/April, 2014 Using a corrugated road culvert as a cistern is an economical way to add to your water storage. Here is the finished tank with PVC pipe directing water...

Blueberry Cash Crop

By Ed Mashburn Issue #130 • July/August, 2011 My almost two-year-old grandson loves blueberries. Put a bowl of those round blue jewels in front of him, and he's a happy little man. He's not alone. Many...

Ashe Torsh

Recipe of the Week Ashe Torsh Courtesy of Callie Musa Ingredients Meatballs: 1/2 pound ground beef 2 tablespoons grated onion 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt Soup: 8 cups water...

Design calculations for no-head, low-head waterwheels

By Rudy Behrens Issue #17 • September/October, 1992 (This is the second of our three-part series on waterwheels. The third installation (Issue No. 18) will deal with overshot wheels. -- Editor.) For those of you who are...

In time of war — The Israeli answer to terrorism

By Massad Ayoob Issue #81 • May/June, 2003 When war seems imminent, citizens think about protecting themselves. The war of the moment involves a declared enemy that has already used unconventional tactics to murder some three...

Duck with Mushrooms

Recipe of the Week Duck with Mushrooms Courtesy of Sharon Selvig Ingredients 2 ducks, cut in pieces 1 clove garlic, minced 1/8 teaspoon thyme 4 ounces ham, in 1/4" cubes 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced thick...

Making apple pectin

By Kristina Seleshanko Issue #167 • September/October, 2017 One day, as I walked past an apple tree that was naturally thinning its fruit by dropping tiny, baby apples, I thought, “I wish there was something useful...