Food security 101: part 2 — Convenience mixes make life easier

By Rowena Aldridge Issue #139 • January/February, 2013 Last issue we talked about some things you can do to stretch your food budget and make great use of every bit of food you buy. This article...

Prepper power! Part 2

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #137 • September/October, 2012 I discussed in Part 1 the many reasons why preppers need to think more long-term about providing reliable electric power. I also mentioned that while it's...

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...

Preserve the harvest naturally through wild fermentation

By Jereme Zimmerman Issue #154 • July/August, 2015 Little hands are ideal for helping to stuff jars with vegetables. Just be sure to "pay" your help — but don't let them eat it all! For a homesteader,...

Blueberry tofu frappe

Recipe of the Week  Blueberry tofu frappe  Courtesy of Rodney Merrill   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries 1/2 cake Kingugoshi (soft style) tofu 1 ripe banana 1/2 cup apple...

Grandpa’s justice

By Tom Kovach Issue #65 • September/October, 2000 Having the best vegetable garden in the village might put food on the table and make some money at the market, but it also can cause some problems....

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...

Kids in the Kitchen

By Sharon Palmer, RD Issue #97 • January/February, 2006 The freeway en route to home resembles a parking lot, allowing you plenty of time to add up all of the tasks awaiting you once you walk...

Space heater safety tips

By Tom Kovach Issue #90 • November/December, 2004 If you are going to try to take the chill out of your home without turning on your main sources of heat, or if you want to add...

Build a Heated Germination Bed

By Charles Sanders Issue #92 • March/April, 2005 Many of us who garden have learned the benefits of starting our own vegetable and flower plants. There are several benefits to having a spot to start your...

The barnyard scramble

By Michelle Hampton Issue #106 • July/August, 2007 Each year during our local county fair, one of the best-attended events happens when farm animals, donated by local ranchers, are let loose in the big rodeo arena....

Small camp security

By Gary Lewis Issue #148 • July/August, 2014 It might be a sleeping bag in a lean-to with a small warming fire at the entrance. It could be a wall tent with five or six hunters...

Subduction zone tsunami — What the residents of the Pacific Northwest have to fear

<!-- Subduction zone tsunami --> By John Silveira Issue #94 • July/August, 2004 I was sitting in my cubicle poring over a map of the Oregon coast—actually, just that part of the coast that is Gold Beach where Backwoods...

The time for modern; the time for traditional

By Massad Ayoob Issue #137 • September/October, 2012 Traditional "old skool" guns, or the most modern and efficient ballistic hardware that money can buy? I asked that question recently on my corner of the Backwoods Home...

Lenie in the kitchen: Lemon scones, pound cake, and pie

Lenie in the kitchen Lemon scones, pound cake, and pie By Ilene Duffy Issue #165 • May/June, 2017 How did 28 years go by so quickly? It was a beautiful fall evening in November 1989 when I took...

Building Eric’s house

By Dorothy Ainsworth Issue #112 • July/August, 2009 This is the first in a series of several articles documenting the building of a stud-frame house from start to finish by an amateur owner/builder, using the pay-as-you-go...