Posts Tagged ‘Backwoods Home Magazine’

Earthineer

(Facebook for farmers, but way more useful)

By Claire Wolfe

In June, I attended The Mother Earth News Fair in Puyallup, Washington with Dave and Ilene Duffy. It was a terrific event — enormous, energetic, information-rich, and even (unusual for the Pacific Northwest in springtime) blessed with sunshine.

The people were the best. Hundreds stopped by the Backwoods Home booth to buy books and back issues, share their stories, and cheer us on. Several showed up in t-shirts with an odd name on them: Earthineer.

Read the whole article here:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/wolfe131.html

Excerpt used with permission of Backwoods Home Magazine.
http://www.backwoodshome.com 1-800-835-2418.

What do you do when your mouth waters for a slice of delicious, real bacon, but there’s none to be had anywhere? Did you know ready-made canned bacon has a shelf life of 10 years? It would be a real treat as an addition to your survival kitchen storage food supply. One such example is Yoders Canned Bacon (2 Cans) 9 Oz Each. If you can’t get it when you want it, how about making your own canned bacon?

The January/February 2011 issue of “Backwoods Home Magazine” includes an article on making your own canned bacon. The article’s author says buying ready-made canned bacon isn’t easy because it’s not widely available, and it can be expensive.

To find out how she made her own canned bacon, check out the full article by clicking the link below the excerpt here.

Canned bacon
Roll your own

By Enola Gay

I have to admit, I am somewhat of an extreme canner. I love to can unusual things canned foods you just don’t find on everyone’s shelves. My latest canning adventures have included everything from canned cheese to canned butter to canned bacon. To can bacon all you need are quart jars, 12-inch-wide masking paper, pressure canner, and bacon.
Cut a piece of masking paper 18 inches long and lay your bacon out in a single layer.

When I was a young woman, my grandparents would occasionally pack up a huge box full of wonderful treasures and present it to me as a care package. It was so much fun to go through each item and wonder where they could have possibly found such a unique cache of canned delights such as Ethiopian chicken chunks or Hungarian canned bacon. The canned bacon was a special treat because I couldn’t afford such extravagances on my meager salary. I did, however, learn to rinse the bacon quite well, or it was completely inedible due to the outrageously high sodium content.

Read the whole article here:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/gay127.html

Excerpt used with permission of Backwoods Home Magazine.
http://www.backwoodshome.com 1-800-835-2418

Khaki Campbell ducks
the other egg layer

By Amanda J. Kemp

Spring brings the pitter-patter of little feet in the mud, games of tag, and raucous quacks. While traditional advice would have you with a yard full of chickens, I heartily recommend Khaki Campbell ducks.

Living on a fifth of an acre in a development, I opted for raising ducks over chickens for several reasons. The drakes do not crow as roosters do, so it won’t bother the neighbors if I keep them around. That means we can hatch our own eggs at a later date. They convert feed to meat efficiently and grow quickly. Ducks are fun to watch, splashing in the water and waddling about, which, more importantly, the neighbors appreciate. This has been immeasurably helpful in keeping the peace. Given these factors about ducks, it was a matter of determining breed.

Read the whole article here:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/kemp126.html

Excerpt used with permission of Backwoods Home Magazine.
http://www.backwoodshome.com 1-800-835-2418

Get Storey’s Guide to Raising Ducks: Breeds, Care, Health for more info on selecting and raising ducks.

Tomatoes, the essential garden crop

By Charles Sanders

Tomatoes are one of the most favored of all garden crops. They originated in South America, but in the early 1500s were taken back to Italy. Today, many people believe that Italy is the true home of the tomato. It is certainly home to some very good tomato varieties.

Wherever they originated, nothing says summer quite like a thick slice of fresh tomato covering a hot-off-the-grill hamburger. During the cold months of January and February, a glass of home canned tomato juice will bring back those visions of warmer weather. The thick chunks of home canned tomatoes in your bowl of chili may just set your mind to planning your next year’s crop.>

Read the whole article here: http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/sanders123.html

Excerpt used with permission of Backwoods Home Magazine. www.backwoodshome.com 1-800-835-2418

            Now, here’s just the neatest idea I’ve seen in a long time.  I’m so glad Backwoods Home Magazine published an article by Sandy Coates about starting a community treasure chest.  You’ll have to read the whole article to really get what it’s all about.  I’ll make sure John includes an excerpt below.

            In a nutshell, if you can get a handful of neighbors and friends together, you can start a round robin arrangement with a container of items you don’t need any more, and someone along the way will take what they want and add something of their own to it.  You’ll have to set some rules, of course, and the sky’s the limit as to what you can pass on, because you can include a notebook that lets you list the items or personal services that obviously don’t fit in the container.

            Like I said, read the article.  Then get together and work this out with your neighbors, people from church, or whatever.  It’s a great way to help each other out and could make a difference for someone’s very survival. 

The community treasure chest

By Sandy Coates 

Do you have odds and ends sitting around that you no longer need? Are you a "green" thinker, hating to throw items away that are still useful? Do you enjoy trading and swapping and just treasure hunting in general? Is your mantra "one man’s junk is another man’s treasure?" Do you enjoy being thrifty and love to recycle; taking cast-offs and finding a new use for them? Do you know other like-minded souls that live in your neighborhood or that you see on a regular basis? If you can answer yes to any of these questions then why not start a community treasure chest?

The rural community I call home consists mainly of ranch families, small home businesses, young couples, and retirees. Most families are on fixed budgets or they have been raised to abhor wastefulness, even before "green was the thing.

Read the whole article here: www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/coates114.html

Excerpt used with permission of Backwoods Home Magazine. www.backwoodshome.com 1-800-835-2418 

Listen, I’ll tell you how you can really be sneaky and charitable at the same time.  Let’s say you have a book on survival you want to pass along.  Put it in the community chest.  If someone takes it, just hope and pray they can really learn what they need from it.  Or, better yet, put in some survival supplies and pass them along for somebody you know who can’t afford much.

Let me give you an example.  It won’t cost a lot, and you could really be doing somebody a favor, and they don’t have to know it came from you, if you don’t want them to know.  Click on the words Quake Kare, Inc., which will take you to their home page.  Go to the Lights & Radios category.  On that page you’ll see a combination flashlight, radio, and emergency siren for just a few dollars.  Buy one for yourself and one to put into the community treasure chest for someone else.  That’s just one idea.  I’m sure you can think of lots more, and when you do, you’ll feel good about doing a little thing that could mean a lot to someone else along the way.