Build your own battery charging station

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #142 • July/August, 2013 Completed charging station after sanding and painting Let me guess — the reason many of you do not use rechargeable batteries is that every time you need...

Slaughtering and Butchering

By Dynah Geissal Issue #23 • September/October, 1993 Fall is butchering time, a period of joy in the harvest of the year's work and of sadness that the lives of your beautiful, healthy animals have come...

Baked Bean Soup

Recipe of the Week  Baked Bean Soup  Courtesy of Oliver Del Signore  When I saw "Baked Bean" listed under "Soups" in the Fannie Farmer cookbook I could not imagine the two going together. I looked at the...

Self-reliance is a mindset — A woman’s opinion

By Dorothy Ainsworth Issue #94 • July/August, 2005 Self-reliance is a mindset. If you have it, you are on your way to independence. If you don't, it would be in your best interest to develop it....

The Mini-Skyline — A homemade yarder to bring firewood up a draw

By James F. Deaton Website Exclusive • January, 2006 The need to get firewood from a draw below my house to my woodshed started me on what became a fun project. After felling 4- to 8-inch...

Egg thingies

Recipe of the Week  Egg thingies  Courtesy of John Silveira   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients For each egg: 1 Tbsp. or so of olive oil 1 green onion, diced 1 Tbsp. diced red...

Build a barrel stove

By Nick Weston Issue #133 • January/February, 2012 This stove kept me warm and provided an excellent cooking surface for more than six months while I lived in my treehouse. With a bit of nip and tuck...

How long should your gun’s barrel length be?

By Massad Ayoob Issue #136 • July/August, 2012 The person new to guns is like the person new to timepieces. "How many of these things are there?" "In how many configurations?" "And they've been around for...

Homestead Helpers

By Charles Sanders Issue #65 • September/October, 2000 Every day around the home place brings with it many new experiences. The number of projects, chores, repairs, and other tasks often seem endless. With those jobs come...

Standby battery charging techniques can ensure engine startups

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #83 • September/October, 2003 Those of us living beyond the suburbs own various sizes and types of yard and garden machinery. From the mandatory riding lawnmower for those weekend warriors...

Basic biscotti cookie

Recipe of the Week  Basic biscotti cookie  Courtesy of Richard Blunt   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients for egg wash: 1 egg 2 Tbsp. milk Ingredients for cookies: 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar-divided 1 tsp....

Make sourdough with wild yeast

By Leah Leach Issue #151 • January/February, 2015 Those of us who live as self-sufficiently as possible love to forage. From wild greens to wild meat, foraged foods make their way onto our tables as often...

Meat For the Homestead

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #137 • September/October, 2012 Meat is often the most expensive portion of our grocery bill, and it is getting more and more expensive every day. I've seen steaks "on sale" for more...

Corn cob jelly

Recipe of the Week  Corn cob jelly  Courtesy of Charles A. Sanders   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 12-14 red corn cobs 6 cups sugar 2 pkg. Sure-Jell Method Start by gathering a few dozen red...

Nut Trees on Your Homestead

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #149 • September/October, 2014 While growing up in Detroit, we had no nut trees in our yard (though we did have seedlings before I left home). That didn't stop my parents, though....

Old-fashioned baked beans

Recipe of the Week  Old-fashioned baked beans  Courtesy of Jackie Clay   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 2 cups dry navy beans 1/4 cup ham or bacon 1/2 cup dehydrated chopped onions 8 Tbsp....