Growing Things: 'Hardening off' produces hardier plants

Q: I am relatively new to gardening, and I am growing my own vegetables from seed for the first time. They are doing very well but I ran across the term ‘hardening off’ the other day. I understand from the online research I have done that young plants cannot be planted straight from the house into the ground, but I am unsure of the right method to use when preparing them for planting outdoors. I am hoping you can help me with this.
A: Hardening off is a term used to describe the