On a recent trip to my local farmers market, I discovered a bunch of beautiful baskets overflowing with figs. Figs have a quick season, so I knew I had to make something pronto! Rather than bake or poach the fruit as I usually do, I wanted to try something new.

I decided to alter Nicole's strawberry-goat cheese scone recipe with my farmers' market figs. The figs perfectly complemented the subtle flavor of the creamy goat cheese.

I opted for a drop-style biscuit rather than a traditional wedge scone, but regardless of the shape it tasted delicious! To learn how to make these simple and scrumptious scones read more

Since we're in the midst of prime blackberry season, I recently went blackberry picking! Some wild blackberry brambles grow near my house, so I decided to harvest my own crop. If you have blackberries growing nearby or plan to visit a u-pick farm, be sure to check out my blackberry pointers when you read more

By now you must have heard that Starbucks is closing 600 of its stateside coffee shops. Last week Starbucks released the official list of the closing stores with a grand total of 616 closures. The closing stores are company-operated stand alone locations; no bookstore, super market, or airport Starbucks will be shuttered. A recent study by analyst Sharon Zackfia, found that 54 percent of the closing locations are within two miles of another Starbucks. The study also breakdowns the closures by region:

The central part of the country will lose about 13 percent of Starbucks stores that are operated directly by the Seattle company. The Southeast will lose 10 percent, the Northeast 8 percent and the West 5 percent.

After checking the list, I'm relieved to see that none of the Starbucks I frequent are closing. To find out which stores are vanishing in your neighborhood, check out the complete list and read more

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity of going into the kitchen at San Francisco's Mission Beach Cafe. Chef Ryan Scott, a competitor on this season's Top Chef, invited me in for a crouton cooking lesson. The friendly, good-looking chef told me about his re-creation of the menu and his hopes to build the restaurant's status. With his TC experience behind him, Scott is busy focusing on cooking and making culinary appearances.
His delicious food is comforting yet sophisticated, familiar yet complex. If you're in the Bay Area, I highly recommend checking out the cafe. His homemade croutons (found in everything from soups to salads) are the best I've ever tasted. If you aren't in the area, bring a little bit of Ryan into your home with this amazing crouton recipe.
Instead of writing out the recipe, Scott, a hands on chef, preferred to teach me personally how to make them. To go behind the scenes and learn how to make Chef Scott's scrumptious croutons, take a look at our exclusive video, and read more

My former boss Deborah recently asked me for tips on planning her son Kenny's birthday party. Kenny is turning 10. For this age group, an activity — a soccer tournament, a day at the ball park, a trip to an interesting place — is essential to a successful birthday party. After chatting with Kenny, we've decided to spend a couple of hours on Alcatraz! He and his buddies, along with parent chaperons, will take the ferry to the infamous ex-jail. They'll go on a walking tour, play games, and have a picnic with birthday cake. Before the party can begin we have to send the invitations. To see how I made these jail-inspired invites, read more

This quick-cooking recipe, which uses yesterday's shrimp, brings Caribbean flavors like pineapple and lime to an open-faced Mexican standby, the tostada.

They're incredibly healthy, yet also chock full of sweet, salty, and spicy flavors. If you're not a fan of heat, simply omit the jalapeños to create a milder version of the dish. To get the recipe, read more

Lately it feels like I'm hardly in my apartment. While I always make time to get creative in the kitchen, I never find several hours to do the laundry. I haven't had clean dishtowels!. Thus I've decided to purchase a new set of dish towels. Can you help me find them? Look for colorful and fun dish towels, like these tomato print towels by Crate and Barrel, that can be used to dry everything from old pots to long stemmed Champagne glasses. Save the dish towels you discover in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag, Dish Towels. Thanks for making my life easier!

Geeksugar has created an explanation on how TeamSugar's bookmarking feature works, so check it out if you are feeling confused.

For a list of my favorite places to shop online, read more