The poor man’s ceramic knife sharpener
By Rick Brannan
Issue #87 • May/June, 2004
There are few things more frustrating and dangerous than working with a dull knife. In my quest for a sharp knife, I have purchased many different styles of...
Gabion walls for form and function
By Joe Mooney
Issue #153 • May/June, 2015
I think there has to be something ingrained in the human brain that loves things built of stone. Maybe it's our desire for strength and safety or the...
Jim Van Camp: Coffee roaster, painter
By Jim Van Camp
Issue #117 • May/June, 2009
The only thing we knew for certain when my wife and I moved to Gold Beach from the big city was we were passionate about good coffee,...
Millenium Vehicles
By Michael Hackleman
Issue #57 • May/June, 1999
A major failing of transportation worldwide is that 99.9% of vehicles on farms, street, and freeways work on one energy source: liquid fuels. In any disastersmall or large,...
Solar-powered chicken coop
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #132 • November/December, 2011
Pre-manufactured chicken coop with roof-mounted solar module
I am sure many of you have raised large flocks of chickens for years as a normal part of rural...
Bartering for bad times
By John Silveira
Issue #138 • November/December, 2012
Bartering may not be a part of your life, right now, but if there's a deepening of the recession, or it becomes a depression, or we enter a...
Vermicomposting — Raise Worms to Consume Waste, Amend Soil, and Earn Income
By Rebekah L. Cowell
Photos by Amanda Egdorf-Sand
Issue #124 • July/August, 2010
Vermicomposting takes composting to another level using Eisenia foetida (commonly known as red wiggler, brandling, or manure worms) to break down organic matter such...
Homemade Toys! — Easy to make, fun to play with, and great for gifts!
By Cynthia Andal
Issue #72 • November/December, 2001
The garden needs planting, animals need feeding, Baby needs to nurse, and that chicken coop simply has to be finished but, there are three children who want you...
Ham and sausage jambalaya
Recipe of the Week
Ham and sausage jambalaya
Courtesy of
Tom Barth
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2...
Building your chicken coop
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #139 • January/February, 2013
Here's a coop we built from pallets and scrap lumber. The goats lived in one end and the chickens lived in the other. It was free and worked...
SARS — Is this a glimpse of the future?
By Gary F. Arnet, D.D.S.
Website Exclusive • March, 2003
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS, is a new respiratory disease that has recently infected people in Asia, Europe, and North America. The emergence of this disease...
Firearms handling refresher Part I: Handguns
By Massad Ayoob
Website Exclusive • December, 2003
One of our readers e-mailed John Silveira to tell him that taking a handgun afield after a long layoff had resulted in some scary moments. While gun handling...
Build A Hybrid Go-Kart For Kids For $150
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Website Exclusive • May, 2010
Grandma Clara used to delight in telling us the story of our Dad's first complete sentence at age 2 when he received a toy car for Christmas: "It's...
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...
Caribbean Barbecued Pork Steaks
Recipe of the Week
Caribbean Barbecued Pork Steaks
Courtesy of
Willy Borsheim
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless pork chops/steaks, about 1/2-inch thick
1 large red onion, sliced
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Method
Lay pork in a glass...
Country-style Pork Stew
Recipe of the Week
Country-style Pork Stew
Courtesy of
Frances Straight
Ingredients
3/4 pound boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of separable fat
Nonstick cooking spray
1-1/4 cups water
1-1/4 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules
1 ...































