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Here in the New Mexico desert, Florence fennel only forms a bulb in its first year. It survives as a perennial plant, but only produces skinny stalks that bolt quickly to go to seed. Younger stalks can still be used in the kitchen. By the time the flowers screens are showing, the stalks become too woody and the flavor changes unpleasantly. But you can harvest the seeds to use in the kitchen, or to start new plants that hopefully will bulb in their first year.

Fennel is the one vegetable that I prefer to use without any competition. Its anise flavor can be intense when used alone, but can easily be overwhelmed by other flavors. I cooked the skin and defleshed carcass of a duck with skinny fennel stems for a delicious soup.

Pic2: duck and skinny fennel stalks, ready for the oven
Pic3: boiling that same duck's carcass with fennel

• Submerge the carcass or the duck completely in water.
• Add fennel at the start for a more intense flavor
• Add S&P to taste.
• Bring to a boil, simmer for 60 minutes.
• Remove and reserve the fennel.
• If you have large fennel bulbs, you can serve and eat them as they are.
• Serve and enjoy.

The skinny stalks shown in these pictures are not pleasant to eat because of the many woody fibers. Remove all the unpleasantness and intensify the fennel flavor considerably to make a very fine soup indeed. See also Fennel Soup 

• Blend the fennel stalks with enough duck stock to avoid stalling the blender.
• Push the blended stalks through a food mill with the smallest screen.
• Pour the resulting liquid through a very fine sieve or several layers of cloth filter to remove even the smallest fibers. They are dangerous!
• Discard the solids in the sieve and food mill.
  Do not feed this to your chickens!

Serving suggestion:

• Add cream to the soup.

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