A lesson in respect
By John Silveira
Issue #65 • September/October, 2000
When I was 10, Dad lived on a farm in New Hampshire with my stepmother and two of my sisters, and I went to stay with them that...
Bugging out in place
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #163 • January/February, 2017
Some emergency situations require quick evacuation. You barely have time to grab your bug-out bag, gather the family, and run out the door. Most of us are ready...
A solar primer — How it works, how it’s made, what it costs
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #72 • November/December, 2001
Buying a solar power system is not like buying a kitchen appliance or power tool. These, unlike a solar system, have published capacity and performance data...
Sweet & Sour Cabbage
Recipe of the Week
Sweet and Sour Cabbage
Courtesy of
Roxanne Milius
Ingredients
1 small onion, sliced
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup water
4 cups red cabbage, shredded
2 tart apples, cored, peeled, and diced
3 tablespoons white vinegar...
Consider the 20-gauge shotgun
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #120 • November/December, 2009
A year or more ago in these pages, I made the suggestion that sometimes less is more, and usually shooters with less powerful guns with which they are...
Tale of a country family
By Rachel Baxter
Issue #66 • November/December, 2000
Dave and Dianna Saleh (pronounced "Sally") always knew they wanted to live a rural lifestyle. They both came from big cities before they met and fell in love,...
Dragon’s breath chili
Recipe of the Week
Dragon’s breath chili
Courtesy of
Rodney Merrill
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
1/3 lb. kidney beans
1/3 lb. pinto beans
1/3 lb. navy beans
6 cups water
2 medium onions, chopped
1...
Bean-beef casserole
Recipe of the Week
Bean-beef casserole
Courtesy of
Tricia Blunt
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 large can baked beans
1 medium onion
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup ketchup
2-3 slices...
Build a Top-Bar Bee Hive
By Jereme Zimmerman
Issue #175 • January/February/March, 2019
My journey to becoming a beekeeper has been a long one, and I’m still not quite there yet. For the past five years or so, I have read...
How do you save freedom in America?
By Dave Duffy
Issue #116 • March/April, 2009
Following is part of a letter I received from Ron Dugan of Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania:
"What is it that we can do to stop the loss of freedom in...
The chicken and the egg
By Habeeb Salloum
Issue #139 • January/February, 2013
One cannot think of our culinary world without chicken or eggs. Chicken is one of the world's most consumed meats and eggs are on the tables of the...
Modify your oven to bake great bread
By Emily Buehler
Issue #102 • November/December, 2006
Making bread at home is a long process—kneading the dough, waiting while it rises, shaping it into a loaf, and then waiting while it rises again. But in...
Which wars work best? The ones we fight or the ones we avoid?
By Dave Duffy
Issue #102 • November/December, 2006
History is supposed to teach us the lessons of wars past so we won't blunder into stupid wars in the present. Since I have mixed feelings about our...
Some unusual jellies for your sweet tooth
By Charles Sanders
Issue #70 • July/August, 2001
In my mind, one of the simple pleasures in life is hot biscuits, a dab of butter, and a dollop of homemade jelly. Around here any biscuits left...
Of kids and guns
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #68 • March/April, 2001
In the almost two years since the Columbine tragedy, American police have coined the term "active shooter." It means, in essence, a crazed gunman who is at the...
Hawaiian poha jam
Recipe of the Week
Hawaiian poha jam
Courtesy of
Sally Denney
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
3 lb. poha (ground cherries)
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar per cup cooked poha
1 Tbsp. lemon...































