WARSAW — Taking over the position recently vacated by Stephanie Faroh, Jackie Franks is the new Health and Human Sciences Educator at Kosciusko County Purdue Extension. She received her undergraduate degree in health science and master’s in public health from Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill. Franks is also a Sexual Risk Avoidance Specialist certified by …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County For many of you, warmer weather means grilling. Nowadays, there are so many varieties of grills to choose from, including wood pellet, gas grills, and charcoal grills. We all have our favorite method of grilling, but no matter the preference, food safety is …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County With spring we begin to think more about locally grown foods. The first food of spring that I see and enjoy is dandelion greens. The last few days I was out walking, enjoying the spring flowers, and picking up the trash from fall and …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Eggs are probably one of the simplest foods to prepare and most importantly enjoy. There is no other food that can be enjoyed all by itself yet helps to create so many other foods. Although the eggs of ducks, geese, and other poultry …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County When I teach nutrition I often encourage people to eat a rainbow of colors and to eat more foods of color. You know that vegetables and fruits are where you are going to find the colors. The colors make for flavor, texture, and …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County I really like soup and my favorite has to be beef vegetable. Both of my grandmothers and my parents were soup makers so I have had many soup making experiences without recipes. I can recall seeing my Grandmother Van den Brocke making beef vegetable …read more.

By STEPHANIE FAROH Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Kosciusko County I always enjoy a good ham and cheese sandwich, but I know if I’m sharing my lunch with my grandmother, my nephew, or my pregnant sister, that I need to make it a hot ham and cheese. Do you heat your deli meat before enjoying it? …read more.

By STEPHANIE FAROH Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Kosciusko County Some of my favorite childhood memories are of baking with my mom and grandmothers. Do you bake with your kids and grandkids? I realized how lucky I was to have these baking “lessons” when I was in college. Many of my friends didn’t know the difference …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County February is National Potato Month. The potato is versatile, economical, and loaded with important nutrients. For you to make the most of your food dollars you have to prepare potatoes in their raw form, which means that you buy them in the produce …read more.

By STEPHANIE FAROH Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Kosciusko County We see hearts everywhere we look when February rolls around. February is American Heart Month and the hearts we see out to celebrate Valentine’s Day also serve as excellent reminders to do a quick check on our own heart health. Heart disease, also known as cardiovascular …read more.

By Mary Ann Lienhart Cross County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County I know that many of you like to prepare food and share your creations with family, friends and co-workers. We celebrate many events and I don’t think we ever celebrate without food, do we? As I type this the Super Bowl hasn’t happened …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County With so many options in cookware, bake ware and appliances, how do you know which ones you spend your money on and which ones you should leave in the store? This program will cover information on pots and pans and the materials they are …read more.

By STEPHANIE FAROH Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Kosciusko County Though this winter has been relatively mild, it’s a good idea to brush up on our winter safety each season. One of the primary concerns is the winter weather’s ability to knock out heat and power to your home. It’s important to be prepared for severe …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County There is still time to register for the Elkhart County Extension Homemaker’s Heritage Skills Workshop. Many of these heritage skills are not being learned and passed on to others. In an effort to teach these heritage skills, hands-on workshops have been planned for …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County I believe soup making is a not practiced in many kitchens. I realize there are many factors that figure into not making soup like grandmother used to. There is the time factor involved, or having to purchase the raw ingredients if you don’t …read more.

By STEPHANIE FAROH Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Kosciusko County A common New Year’s Resolution is to get physically fit, but many also have a goal to get fiscally fit this year. Have you reviewed your finances for 2015 yet? A new year is a great time to set financial goals that can pay off years …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director and Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County I have written about homemade soups and I hope I have motivated you to make some soup. I want to encourage you to plan some kitchen time and make some real soup. You can be like the French and start with …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director and Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Join the Elkhart County Extension Homemakers for a free, educational program titled “Kitchen Gadget Savvy” presented by Mary Ann Lienhart Cross. Through this lesson you will learn about new kitchen gadgets, utensils, knives, cutting boards and so much more. Participants are …read more.

By STEPHANIE FAROH Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Kosciusko County Do you wish you could hibernate like bears through the blistery cold winter? It’s the perfect time of year to grab a blanket and a good book and enjoy the winter beauty from the comfort of home. Before you get too comfortable, though, let’s remember how …read more.

By STEPHANIE FAROH Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Kosciusko County January is Slow-Cooking Month, so let’s get our crock pots fired up for a nice, warm meal. There are many benefits to using a slow cooker; they use less electricity than an oven, they can be used throughout the year, providing the warm meals we crave …read more.

[weaver_youtube EXA01c0WL5o rel=0]   By EMIL VENERE Purdue University New research findings point toward a class of compounds that could be effective in combating infections caused by enterovirus D68, which has stricken children with serious respiratory infections and might be associated with polio-like symptoms in the United States and elsewhere. The researchers have used a …read more.

By STEPHANIE FAROH Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Kosciusko County Did you make your New Year’s Resolution yet? A new year presents a wonderful opportunity for you to reflect on your health and to set up a healthy living plan for the new year. If you’ve made and then broken the same old weight or health-oriented …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director and Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County A special part of the holiday foods are the beverages. Beverages, whether hot or cold, can provide lots of color and can be full of food value. Unfortunately, they can also be high in sugar and fat. One of my favorites …read more.

By STEPHANIE FAROH Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Kosciusko County Every year at Christmastime, my dad received a box of pears as a gift from a co-worker. As a child I appreciated this box of goodies, but I didn’t think about how this kind act encouraged healthy eating too. Eating a raw pear is one of …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Extension Educator – Health & Human sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Last week I wrote about holiday traditions and how many of them are connected to food. This week my thoughts are on planning breakfast so everyone can be a part of the activities and all enjoy …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County To many of us the holidays are all about traditions. Among these traditions are special foods only prepared this time of the year. There are many traditions beyond the food such as decorating, church and community services, music, lights, family gatherings, and of …read more.

A new face has come to the Kosciusko County Purdue Extension. Taking over the position recently vacated by Joan Younce, Stephanie Faroh is the new health and human sciences educator at the extension. She received her undergraduate degree from Indiana University Bloomington in dietetics, and her graduate degree from Ball State University in nutrition. Faroh …read more.