French Onion Soup

Recipe of the Week  French Onion Soup& Julia Child's Beef Stock  Courtesy of Richard Blunt  Thirty-some years ago the publisher, Dave Duffy, the food editor, Richard Blunt, and I all lived in or near Boston. Butch, that’s Richard Blunt,...

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...

Creamy white bean soup with kale

Recipe of the Week  Creamy white bean soup with kale  Courtesy of Lisa Nourse   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 8 oz. Kielbasa, thinly sliced (or if you like things spicier you...

Tips for finding your affordable home

By Dave Cournoyer Website Exclusive • February, 2008 If you haven't yet made the move to the country, here is helpful information about the cost and availability of land in the U.S. One factor that is important...

Foraging for wild berries

By Kristina Seleshanko Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019 I had just posted a photo online of some wild berries I was going to preserve, when suddenly I was inundated with messages: “Are those really safe to...

Finding solutions in firewood

By Dave Duffy January 16, 2000 When I am confounded and afraid, that is, when I have trouble figuring out what to do next in a critical situation, I go to my woodpile, grab an axe,...

Preserving plums

By Kristina Seleshanko Issue #171 • May/June, 2018 I’ve read that the Chinese believe plums symbolize good luck; perhaps that’s why plums are one of the most cultivated fruits on earth. (Or maybe it’s just that...

Solar Power 101: Inverters

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #89 • September/October, 2004 This article is the third in a series of our beginner's course in solar electricity. Simultaneously we have instituted a Home Energy Information (www.homeenergy.info) section on...

Baking Bread

By Linda Gabris Issue #168 • November/December, 2017 Growing up in the rural woods miles away from the nearest country store, store-bought bread was seldom seen in Grandma’s house. So to keep up with demand, she...

How to buy your first sheep without getting shorn

By Anita Evangelista Issue #32 • March/April, 1995 Multimillionaire J. Paul Getty was once asked the secret of becoming rich. He's reported to have said, "I buy when everyone is selling, and sell when everyone is...

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...

Call me plumber

By Emily Chadwick Issue #121 • January/February, 2010 Sometimes life requires you to climb in the toilet, and elbow deep in the bowl, you discover the path to self-reliance. When I heard the flush, I knew I...

Love Those Green Beans

By Alice B. Yeager Issue #68 • March/April, 2001 Anyone with some gardening space, a sunny location, and good loamy soil with pH 6.0-7.5 can grow snap beans. With some good recipes, you'll have people begging...

Make a Quick and Easy Tipi

By Bob Van Putten Issue #174 • November/December, 2018 The native peoples of North America were a very practical lot. Over the centuries they developed some very efficient tools. Yet, perhaps because of their appreciation of...

Dr. Laura tells her listeners she’s decided to pack a gun

By Dave Duffy February 12, 2000 The showdown between the Federal government and the American people over gun rights may have tilted in favor of the people recently when the nation's third most popular radio talk...

We built John Silveira’s chicken coop/garden

By Suzy Lowry Geno Website Exclusive • April, 2007 I have what seems like mountains of great "fertilizer" from my barn full of English Angora rabbits. But between my work as a newspaper editor and caring...