Free article Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

An American dollar worth two cents

By John Silveira Issue #129 • May/June, 2011 Most Americans are unaware that today's dollar has the purchasing power that roughly four cents had back in 1913. That was the year the Federal Reserve (the Fed)...

Old-fashioned hot chocolate

Recipe of the Week Old-fashioned hot chocolate Courtesy of Richard Blunt You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 2 cups whole milk 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into pieces 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar 1/8 tsp. kosher...

Helping crackpots kill kids

By John Silveira February 23, 2000 I've moved to Oregon and one of the first "privileges" in this state I intend to avail myself of is the state's easy-to-obtain concealed weapon permit. Never mind that the...

Time to Forget About Snail and Slug Bait

By Lyle Dykes Issue #135 • May/June, 2012 Years ago when traveling on business, I looked out of the window of my motel one morning in Newport, Oregon, and noticed a little Chinese lady flipping over...

Garden injuries

By Joseph Alton, M.D. Issue #140 • March/April, 2013 Cuts and scrapes are the most likely wounds gardeners incur (hopefully, not on that green thumb of yours). In many cases, these could have been prevented by...

Defunding government is a sensible voter solution to reining in local government

By Dave Duffy Issue #128 • March/April, 2011 Like so many other communities across the country, my community of Curry County on the southern Oregon coast has rejected efforts by local government to raise taxes in...

Solar Food Drying

By Marcella Shaffer Issue #58 • July/August, 1999 The oldest known method of food preservation is drying food using the heat from the sun. Unfortunately it has become the least used as freezers and pressure canners...

Nana V’s holiday corn bread

Recipe of the Week Nana V’s holiday corn bread Courtesy of Richard Blunt You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 8 oz. (raw weight) good quality smoked bacon 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese 2...

Understanding the gun debate, part 2

By Massad Ayoob Issue #162 • November/December, 2016 Click Here to read Part 1 When debating any controversial issue, the first thing one has to do is sort the lies from the truth. On the pro-gun side, mistruths...

The real “Q” — Barbecue the way it’s supposed to be

By John DePresca Photos by Carolyn DePresca Issue #119 • September/October, 2009 The next time you go to the grocery store or supermarket check out the price of a pound of already prepared barbecue. If you're shocked...

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,...

Your honey will love your sweet buns

By Jennifer Stein Barker Issue #51 • May/June, 1998 Sweet rolls (or sweet buns, Danish pastries, sticky buns, coffee cake, etc.) are an American tradition for breakfast. Sometimes they are served with eggs and cooked meats,...

Avian Flu — How afraid of this

Issue #97 • January/February, 2006 There's been a lot of talk in the mass media recently about Avian flu, also known as Bird flu and...

Traditional trail foods — Transportable calories

By Brad Rohdenburg Issue #81 • May/June, 2003 Napoleon said that an army marches on its stomach. Frederick the Great defined an army as a group of men who demanded daily feeding. One can imagine the...

Yurt Magic — Building an Enchanting Instant House

By Claire Wolfe Issue #76 • July/August, 2002 I awoke last night to a circle of moonlight reflected on a wall. It was so vivid I could almost see the dark-and-light patterns of the moonface in...

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...