SUMMER SQUASH: Summer squash including pattypan (top left, bottom center and top right), green zucchini (bottom left), golden zucchini (bottom left and top left), yellow squash (top left and bottom right), eight ball (top center), chayote (center), squash blossoms (bottom center), zephyr (top right) and cousa (bottom left). Scott Suchman/For The Washington Post

EGGPLANT: Eggplant should be heavy for its size. If it's light, there's more of a chance of it being seedy and bitter. Tom McCorkle/For The Washington Post

SUMMER SQUASH: Summer squash including pattypan (top left, bottom center and top right), green zucchini (bottom left), golden zucchini (bottom left and top left), yellow squash (top left and bottom right), eight ball (top center), chayote (center), squash blossoms (bottom center), zephyr (top right) and cousa (bottom left). Scott Suchman/For The Washington Post

EGGPLANT: Eggplant should be heavy for its size. If it's light, there's more of a chance of it being seedy and bitter. Tom McCorkle/For The Washington Post

Sequels: Not just for the Marvel Cinematic Universe! We are bringing you a variety of tips for making the most of fresh summer produce. We're talking summer squash (zucchini! so much zucchini!), eggplant and melons. Below, find some of our best advice that will help these stars truly shine.

Hot tip: It might not seem obvious given that they are on opposite ends of the texture spectrum, but zucchini and potatoes can sometimes be used in similar ways in recipes. Just make sure you cook the zucchini first to drive off the moisture. More advice:

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When shopping for summer squash, my colleague Aaron Hutcherson says, look for ones that are heavy for their size, without soft spots or wrinkled skin. "Smaller squash are typically more tender, have fewer seeds and are more flavorful," he adds.

Aaron also says you can grate and freeze fresh squash for up to a year.

A tip I picked up from a recent issue of BBC Good Food magazine: When making a dish such as a curry for which you want to pan-fry the pieces until they're golden and firm, consider scraping the seeds out of the halved squash before slicing. Then you can add them back into the dish later to retain their flavor and moisture.

Marinating isn't just something to do before cooking. Consider tossing roasted chunks or grilled slices of squash with a punchy dressing while they're still warm so that the flavors are absorbed.

Hot tip: If you're an eggplant skeptic, grilling is a great way to potentially reframe your feelings about these nightshades. The smoky flavor takes over, and the heat transforms the eggplant into silky, even meaty, succulence. (If you don't have a grill, a broiler works well for indoor cooking, which I do for my eggplant parm casserole and sandwiches.) And with a hot grill, there's less of a chance you'll undercook it, which I think is what turns many people off. For an especially popular entry point, puree the eggplant into baba ghanouj. More advice:

Like squash (and many produce in general), eggplant should be heavy for its size. If it's light, there's more of a chance of it being seedy and bitter.

Longer Asian varieties are milder in flavor and boast a thinner skin. Their more slender profile also means it's harder to undercook them.

Modern eggplant are bred to have much less of the bitterness they're still trying to shake their reputation of, which is also why you often see salting recommended as a method to counteract it. "Although some people will argue that it affects the texture and oil absorption, I find the difference so marginal that it doesn't merit the time and effort," cookbook author Reem Kassis wrote in Voraciously last year.

If you're roasting or grilling whole eggplant, be sure to prick some holes with a fork first. Otherwise, the eggplant may explode. (I know from personal experience!)

We are bringing you a variety of tips for making the most of fresh summer produce. We're talking summer squash (zucchini! so much zucchini!), eggplant and melons.

Hot tip: Because they grow so close to the ground, melons can be a source of bacterial contamination, which is why you want to take care to wash the outside. Cutting into an unwashed melon can drag harmful bacteria into the flesh. Wash melons under cool running water, ideally scrubbing with a clean vegetable brush. Don't use soap or bleach. More advice:

Despite lore, slapping your watermelon won't tell you a lot. Instead, look for a yellow, not white or light green, spot on the underside of the melon where it rested on the ground. If the darker green stripes or spots are tinged too yellow, that's an indication of sunburn. A good watermelon should be gently rounded on the ends with a dull, not overly shiny, skin. It should be heavy for its size.

For American cantaloupe, look for a pleasant aroma. Ripe melons will yield but not break to gentle pressure at the blossom end. When the raised netting on the skin is dense and evenly distributed, the melon will have better flavor. Skin color more yellow than green is another sign of maturity. Honeydew doesn't give off as much aroma, so instead focus on color - creamy, not green - and the pressure test.

The more cut the melon gets, the more it deteriorates, so you can always cut half of it and leave the other half intact, tightly wrapped, until you're ready to use it.

Don't only think of melons in sweet settings. In general, they play well with fresh herbs, hot peppers and salty, umami-rich ingredients (fish sauce, cured meats, etc.). So put watermelon in your gazpacho, make an easy snack or appetizer with cantaloupe and prosciutto or add honeydew to your tzatziki.

Stephen Gatewood is now the sales and customer service manager for Guam and Micronesia for Matson, the company announced in a news release.

Residents, workers, visitors and students in the central part of the island can now enjoy the full menu offered by Jack in the Box at its newest  location on Marine Corps Drive.

The Lotte Hotel Guam is capitalizing on the popularity of a Korean cartoon to create child-friendly and comfortable environments for families with children, including infants and toddlers. 

Poll results are published every Monday in The Guam Daily Post.

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