Clean up your act!
By Nanette Blanchard
Issue #100 • July/August, 2006
I used to get a headache just inhaling the chemical fumes while walking through the cleaning product aisle of the store. I started using less toxic products from...
Cajun Shrimp Appetizer
Recipe of the Week
Cajun Shrimp Appetizer
Courtesy of
Cahana Mead
Ingredients
1 pound extra large shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 tablespoon. lime juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon...
Finding, buying, milking, and living with the family milk cow
By Jayn Steidl Thibodeau
Issue #36 • November/December, 1995
Have you ever had this happen to you? You've opened the refrigerator door for a cold, refreshing glass of milk only to find an empty jug. You've...
Simplifying simplicity
By Claire Wolfe
Issue #117 • May/June, 2009
In the bustling 19th century, Henry David Thoreau urged us to "simplify, simplify, simplify."
In the even more hectic 20th and 21st centuries, writer, philosopher, and frugalista Wendy McElroy...
Power your bug-out bag
By Jeff Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #160 • July/August, 2016
More and more people are starting to see the advantage of having a bug-out bag for each member of their family. Normally these bags are kept...
Our energy crisis Part 1 — It’s our creation, but we can fix it
By John Silveira
Issue #113 • September/October, 2008
It has been said the United States is a "carbon economy" meaning that our economy and standard of living depend on the availability of fossil fuels which include...
Moving to the wilderness — Turning the dream to reality
By Jackie Clay
Issue #36 • November/December, 1995
The Dream An increasing number of folks are having the same dream today: get a piece of land isolated from the stress and pollution of civilization, and...
Here’s how to make a musical bamboo flute
By Robert E. Kramer
Issue #42 • November/December, 1996
Materials
1 propane or butane torch or campfire to heat up metal rod.
1 steel rod at least 1/2" diameter
1 oven mitt or heavy cloth
1...
Stewed tomatoes
Recipe of the Week
Stewed tomatoes
Courtesy of
Alice Brantley Yeager
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
1 gallon ripe tomatoes
2 cups onions, coarsely chopped
1 cup celery, coarsely chopped
1 cup sweet peppers,...
Turn your passion into a business
By Patrice Lewis
Issue #150 • November/December, 2014
In 1993, my husband and I did something most people merely dream about: we chucked our professional nine-to-five jobs, left urban California, and settled in a rural home...
Make grape juice the easy way
By Tanya Kelley
Issue #41 • September/October, 1996
Squeezing and straining grapes for grape juice was not exactly my idea of fun. So when my neighbor showed me a faster, easier method, I was delighted. For...
Indian Fry Bread
Recipe of the Week
Indian Fry Bread
Courtesy of
Beverly Rossman
Ingredients
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/4 Cup Instand nonfat dry milk powder
2 teaspoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Butter or Lard
3/4 Cup Warm water...
Hunting, processing, and serving black bear
By Linda Gabris
Issue #162 • November/December, 2016
Bear was a popular meat in our house when I was growing up in the rural woods. Black bear was Grandpa's favorite big game animal to hunt and...
Money can buy happiness
By John Silveira
Issue #72 • November/December, 2001
The results are in: money can buy happiness, but it doesn't come cheap. Not only that, the amount of happiness your money can buy can be measured.
I know...
Start a fire in any weather
By Charles Sanders
Issue #161 • September/October, 2016
Most of us living in the backwoods are comfortable with utilizing fire as a tool. We use fire to heat our homes, burn brush, power our forges, help...
Crawfish fettucine
Recipe of the Week
Crawfish fettucine
Courtesy of
James Robertson
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 lb. crawfish tails
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and...
