The new gardening and canning book by Jackie Clay is absolutely top-notch!

It’s practical, understandable even by newbies, and very comprehensive.

Thanks SO MUCH!!!

J Millhorn
Plano, Texas

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Dear Jackie:

I want to congratulate you for another wonderful book!

Your gardening/canning book is the best I’ve ever read. It is really nice to be able to go in find the vegetable or fruit, and have recipes and growing information at your fingertips! Also, I loved the little tidbits of family information you tucked in here and there.  It made me feel a part of your family!

Thank you so very much for all the help you have passed on to us, your hungry-for-information-and-future country living people.

God bless you and your family, especially your sick Mother.

I hope she gets well soon.

Donna J Miller
Tucson, AZ

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I am also a user and collector of cast iron cookware and thought I would pass along an old western tip for deep frying.

Heat the oil in a dutch oven on medium-high heat and drop a kitchen match in the oil. When the match flares up, the oil is the right temperature for deep-frying (about 375 degrees). Raise the temp just a notch, because you’re adding lower temp food, and go.

Keep up the good work

Terry Bolling
Phoenix, AZ

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I wandered to your site somehow, and find it absolutely amazing.

I have two cast iron fry pans, which I love. I plan to try the 200 degree seasoning method. I do clean them with salt and a nylon scrubbie and they are wonderful!

That was a pleasant article, but the one about civil unrest I found quite disturbing, mostly because it put into words things I have been thinking about for some time.  I also have read something about how the United States is currently divided into five districts with special military units and directives for each area, should the citizenry get out of line.  Pretty frightening stuff.  We personally are sure not prepared to deal with something like this, but have started to work toward putting in a wood stove, and stocking up on emergency supplies.

Again, thanks for addressing issues that most people don’t want to think about—but should.

I will visit your site often.

Brenda Halverson

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Dear Backwoods Home Editor,

This is the first time that I read your magazine, and I loved it!

I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and we used cast iron pans to cook every meal.  When I was married 13 years ago, my Dad gave me the complete pan set as a wedding gift. I have 6 pans from the original set that were my Great Grandmother’s and I have added a 12 inch dutch oven with legs and a lid (for camping) and a 12 inch deep sided skillet that I found dirt cheep at a yard sale (it was rusty and the lady did not know how to cure it). The lid from the dutch oven fits my 12 inch skillet and the deep sided skillet, it can also be turned upside down and used as a small griddle when camping.  I will not cook with anything else!

Thank you for the great articles and your publication. I will be subscribing soon!

April Letourneau
Wasilla, Alaska

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I enjoyed Jackie’s article on cast iron.  We have collected a number of pots/pans/ovens over the years.

The section of the article addressing whether or not to “wash” one’s cast iron struck me.  My dad was from upstate New York in a very rural setting.  He had some beautiful cast iron skillets (which we now have!) that were perfectly seasoned and he used nearly every day.  I learned from him to use very hot water and SALT to “wash” the cast iron.

The article mentioned the pioneers using a handful of sand.  I think the salt likely provides the same result.  Just toss a little in the very hot water, shove it around with a rag or sponge or whatever is handy, rinse, dry, then we use a paper towel to rub just a VERY small amount of oil on the inside of the utensil, and dry it out in a 200 degree oven.  Once it cools, it’s ready for the next use.

Thank everyone at BHM for all of the hard work, the information, and the willingness to share it all with us.

Best regards,

Mary Nell Condren
DeRidder, LA

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Thanks! Despite loving to cook on well-seasoned cast iron, I’ve never been able to properly season it. After reading your article, I figured I’d give it one more try.

I found a cast-iron griddle at a garage sale last weekend. Although it looked seasoned, it was little used, much like my own, since I was never able to do it correctly.

To make a long story short, I hand sanded that thing for two hours on my deck yesterday. After I got it down to 220 grit sandpaper, I decided I didn’t like it well enough yet, so I started over again at 60 grit. It was as close to glass as I could get it before even attempting to oil it.

After sanding, and cleaning it with paper towels and a LOT of oil (no water) until all the loose iron was gone, I oiled it, tossed it in the oven, and waited …. perfect eggs this morning, and it didn’t stick at all! I now have a couple more things in my basement that need sandpaper….. dutch oven and bigger griddle being the two biggest things.

Paula Werme
Boscawen, NH

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Reading each issue of BHM gives me a little more hope in knowing that there are others who share the ideas I consider just good common sense.  As our government leaders make only more and more damaging decisions that will affect our country, particularly economically, it is such a help to not only feel less isolated, but to also read some practical advice in how to respond and take care of ourselves, our friends, and families.

We have been blessed that my husband has been able to earn enough to supply us with a nice home and amenities.  (I’m thrilled with my double oven and air conditioning.)  But reading your magazine helps me feel better prepared to face the inevitable worsening down-turn in our economy.  We have already seen a huge decrease in salary, but thanks to having some skills learned in years past- some from your magazine- I have not had to worry that we can still have enough to eat and a way to heat our home.  I’ve never felt it wise to think that we will always be able to buy what we want when we want it, and even though we didn’t learn many of these skills because we truly had to, I’m so glad God did somehow give us the interest in learning.  Things like gardening, canning and preserving, raising livestock, sewing, orcharding,  wine- and beer-making, etc. are almost second nature and don’t seem like a hardship at all.  In fact, I can taste the quality of the results of our labor every day.  My husband would put our Gewurztraminer wine and our peach salsa up against any commercial brand any time! My family prefers homemade ginger ale and “plain” home cooking over most restaurants and commercially prepared food.  Folks who used to tease me about my shelves of home-canned foods, big gardens, bulk supplies of flour and other things, aren’t laughing now.

How invaluable is your magazine in giving so much practical advice and information in all of these skills!  Though some readers have been doing some of these tasks for years, there is no way to ever know it all, and we can always learn more from one another.  The humility with which you share your knowledge is also very refreshing.  Even the features addressing the more ideological side of issues are not delivered with the typical arrogance I find in many other columns from other sources.

To change the subject completely, I thought I’d add a suggestion to Linda Gabris’ “Homemade premixed foods” feature in the May/June, 2009 issue.  I found that adding about 1 teaspoon of salt to the oatmeal mix really improved the flavor, and I’d highly recommend it as long as one is not on a reduced sodium diet. Adding a few drops of maple extract when cooking the oatmeal works nicely, too. I used regular rolled oats, which I processed in the food processor for about 45 seconds, instead of the instant oats, since we can buy the regular oats in bulk more economically than instant or quick oats.  I tried and loved the basic biscuit mix! Though I could technically have reduced the baking powder slightly since using buttermilk, keeping the amount as listed gave us the fluffiest biscuits I’ve ever made. Thanks!

In the “Ask Jackie” column, I wondered if the reader asking about carbonated beverages was asking how to make homemade soda with the intensity of seltzer water, rather than just carbonated water.  Though homemade sodas are slightly fermented to create the carbonation, the alcohol by-product is truly negligible.  Though sanitation is important, making homemade sodas is rather easy, particularly using commercial extracts and the correct yeast.  The soda can be ready in as little as 2-3 days, and the results are worth the little effort.

Thank you for a job so very well done!  Each of your contributors does a terrific job of offering practical and timely advice and instruction.

Sincerely,
Erin Dumont,
Sam’s Valley, Oregon

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Oh my. After a couple days away from your website I logged on and scanned quickly for something to open and of course — my all time favorite subject — CAST IRON COOKWARE!!!!!

I loved the article immensely – almost as much as I love my cast iron cookware. I have 2 dutch ovens, a griddle, many, many skillets (probably at least 6) and just bought two pots with wooden handles at a flea market. I’m always on the prowl for more cast iron. That is my weakness. I LOVE Lehman’s and every time I go, I almost always get a new skillet or some other valuable piece that I just have to have. I typically make soups and stuff over the campfire in my dutch ovens, I have never baked – I’ve been afraid to try. This is the same reason I haven’t bought the cornbread trays.

I’m at work and at lunch so I printed the article to finish reading at home. Thank you, Jackie, for a very informative article (and an exciting one for me). I will try to bake something now, you’ve given me some confidence to try.

Linda Fenk
West Wheatfield, PA

We’re happy you enjoyed the article, Linda and hope you’ll consider subscribing to the print issue. Only a few articles from each issue go online so why take the chance of missing one you’d really enjoy. — Dave

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I really enjoyed Jackie Clay’s article on cast iron. We’ve been using it for years and love it too. Just by experimenting with cooking and cleaning and restoring it we picked up most of the info Jackie covered already–but it was great to see it all in print! I hope that article is part of her new cookbook and I can’t wait to see that–I’ll definitely order one!

She’s a great inspiration and a fount of knowledge.  I’ve had several of my questions answered on her Ask Jackie Blog and am very grateful there’s someone out there who actually knows a few odd things and is willing to share the info.

Mary Thompson

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