Fall — and of course, Halloween — bring us many pumpkins, many of which will end up on the front stoop with a jack-o-lantern grin. The best varieties of pumpkins for carving are the Ghost Rider, Magic Lantern, Merlin and Spirit — the names alone evoke pumpkin folklore, in which witches turned people into pumpkins. If you plan on entering a competition, Big Max and Big Moon grow the biggest, but if you are in the mood to make a pumpkin pie, Small Sugar or Amish Pie are best.

It’s no surprise that sweet potatoes are at the top of nearly everyone’s healthiest foods list. One baked, medium-sized sweet potato contains 438 percent of your daily value of vitamin A (a white potato contains 1 percent), 37 percent of your vitamin C, and some calcium, potassium, and iron too. All this at just 105 calories! What’s more, they also deliver 4 grams of dietary fiber — 16 percent of the daily value — and absolutely zip in terms of fat.

As in any relationship, you get out of it what you put into it. This is especially true when it comes to thin-crust pizza. Local Pie’s chefs Lee Lucier and Jack McNulty and partner J.R. Richardson understand it’s all about the culinary team — and the “double 00” flour of course.

Translated from the Italian “dopio zero,” the “double 00” refers to the ultra-fine grind of the wheat flour, powdery and silky in texture, used to make the sourdough starter for the restaurant’s pizza dough. The custom pizza ovens, which reach temperatures of 900 degrees or more (affectionately called “the twins”), are designed to make pizzas with thin, crisp crusts.

Sandwiches have long been mealtime staples, though they’ve come a long way. While the basic, rustic ham sandwiches that many pioneers traveling the Oregon trail enjoyed are still popular and the peanut butter and jelly will never go out of style, diners are becoming more adventurous and serving up a variety of options between two slices of bread.

According to D. H. Lawrence, every fruit has its secret and the fig is no exception. This jewel of a fruit is one of the most delicious, yet overlooked fruits of summer. Alma, Brown Turkey, Celeste, Kadota and Mission are only a few of the varieties grown in South Carolina. The fig season is short and if you blink you might miss it!

A new farm-inspired restaurant concept broke ground recently at the Promenade in Old Town Bluffton. Called FARM, the restaurant hopes to open in early 2016. Ryan Williamson, Brandon Carter and Josh Heaton have joined forces to create a restaurant that will serve as the connector between the dining experience and the farmer’s market culture, utilizing as much produce from Williamson’s Lowcountry Farms as possible.

By Kathleen Watson / Owner, 843

6 cans of tomato strips
10 sliced yellow onions
20 cloves garlic
2 bottles red wine
1/2 cup salad oil
2 quarts heavy cream
Salt & pepper to taste
Sugar to taste
8 sprigs rosemary

Saute onions, rosemary and garlic in salad oil until translucent. Add wine and recede by half. Add six cans of tomatoes and simmer for two hours. Add cream then use immersion blender for 10 minutes, moving it around occasionally. Enjoy!

Four food trucks will be parked outside of Tanger Outlet Centers in Bluffton through at least Labor Day. The popular shopping center is experimenting with four trucks at its Tanger 2 location -- Downtown Curbside Kitchen, Lowcountry Rocks Lobster, Shrimp Loco and Ragin Cajun. Truck hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A World of Beer franchise is opening at Hilton Head Island's Shelter Cove Towne Centre. The franchise, which also has Savannah and Pooler locations, offers more than 500 local, regional, national and global craft beers served in bottles, can and on tap. Owners have targeted a November opening in the 4,500-square-foot building between Kilwins and AT&T. The food served will be geared toward enchanting the flavor of the craft beer. Live entertainment is planned for Fridays and Saturdays.