Erin, I've had exactly the same dilemma! Thanks for the ideas, Faith.

One of my favorite dishes is a fennel-apple salad. Thinly slice 1 small bulb (or 1/2 large bulb) or fennel (save the fronds). Thinly slice 1 granny smith apple. MIx together with juice of 1/2 lemon (or more to taste) and enough good olive oil to moisten but not be oily. Salt and pepper to taste and finally mix in the chopped fronds. It's so refreshing in the summer.

Fennel/orange salad, with arugula.

Search Google for any type of fennel carpaccio. I love it thinly sliced with Parmigiano. Also fennel risotto (use the fennel instead of rice) is delish!

How about a chilled fennel soup?

I know it's not exactly soup weather, but here's one of my favorites: Parsnip, Fennel, and Cumin Soup.

Fennel, cabbage, carrot, and red onion slaw with fennel seeds and chilli. So good. Especially with (vegetarian) sausage and spinach pie. Also great in cakes...like carrot cake, but different :-)

Fennel, orange or grapefruit, and shallot salad; chicken salad with fennel instead of celery; or try this fennel frond pesto: http://newbrokefoodie.blogspot.com/2011/07/fennel-frond-pesto.html

Roast and chop the fennel bulb and use it in a fritatta. I've used the fronds as a substitute for dill in potato salad.

Jamie Oliver has a great tomato pasta sauce using fennel. I can't remember what book it's in (the yellow one?), but I probably make it twice a month. Super easy, and a little bit different.

I use fennel anywhere I'd roast or grill root veggies. Fennel fronds are great in salads and marinades. I am weird, but I like fennel to snack on as well. It's pretty much my favorite root veggie.

Grilled fennel. Toss big slices of it in olive oil and a little sea salt and put it directly on the BBQ along with whatever meat or veggies you're grilling. It develops a wonderful rich, meaty flavor when charred over a grill and stands on its own as a side dish for a summer meal.

We've been getting a lot of fennel too! My favorite thing we've done so far is make up a salsa/salad with chopped fennel, cucumber (also from CSA), red onion, and avocado dressed with lemon juice. We used it as a side to grilled chicken, and then with leftovers with pita chips. I could see it in a mediterranean style burrito or taco too.

simplest, most refreshing (esp. in this hot weather) salad: med-thin sliced fennel, shaved parm, salt and fresh ground pepper, juice of half lemon plus olive oil over all. Oh, I am craving as I type. It is wonderfully cooling in this warmth and humidity.

What fantastic ideas guys, thanks so much! Now I'm hoping for even more fennel this week.

The River Cafe’s Crab Linguine. Finely slice the fennel bulb and pop it in the pasta water after the pasta has been in for five minutes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2006/jan/14/features.weekend11

It's a bit heavy for summer, but:

Rachael Ray has a fantastic recipe for pasta sauce that uses fennel. It's something like "GoodFennels" pasta (a play on the name of the movie "Goodfellas") and would be found somewhere on the Food Network website.

I've made it with spicy Italian sausage and ziti... it was fab.

I like this recipe for a twist on a standard grilled cheese --Grilled Cheddar and Fennel sandwiches with curry mayo

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Cheddar-and-Fennel-Sandwiches-with-Curry-Mayo-231188

I seriously want to go home and cook right now. And no worries about "too heavy for summer" - my office is a constant 65 degrees, I eat lots of soups, stews, and pasta dishes all summer long for lunches.

I love fennel that's been lightly sauteed in some olive oil and salt (and butter, if you'd like it to be a little richer). I've put this type of sauteed fennel on top of hot dogs, served it with kielbasa and tossed it with pasta and shrimp (add some garlic and red pepper flakes if you did it this way). I think fennel pairs best with pork or seafood, but I'll eat it with anything! I have also thinly sliced fennel and frozen it and used it later (in a saute again, not raw), with no ill effects.

There's a lovely shaved fennel & zucchini salad on 101cookbooks.com

How about juicing it with apple and lemon, maybe some ginger.

Slice it thick, brush it with oil and grill it. Simple and delicious. It's also great chopped or sliced then caramelized over low-heat (like onions) and tossed in carbonara or with any pasta in a light cream or white wine sauce.

Thinly sliced fennel, sliced black olives, orange sections, chopped pecans and a balsamic vinaigrette is fantastic and so fresh for summer.

JUICE it!! I'm kind of addicted to fennel juice right now:

http://www.shutterbean.com/apple-fennel-melon-juice/

my favorite is fennel, orange and avocado salad - so very refreshing. roasted fennel with parmesan is awfully good too, though with summer it maybe better to grill.

..

Thinly shaved raw fennel, cucumber and carrot salad in a Japanese carrot/miso/ginger dressing.
It keeps well and stays wonderfully crunchy. You could add in all sorts of things (jicama, pear, apple, walnuts, arugula, watercress) the trick is to cut everything to the same size. I like using a spiral slicer to make ribbons of veggies for something like this.

The first recipe I ever made with fennel, and one of my favorites, was from Martha Stewart. Grilled sea scallops and fennel with an herb pasta. Perfect for summer.

Salad of fennel, parsley, endive, and parmesan, topped with a little truffle oil if you like it.

Grilled followed by a blast in the microwave, if needed to get it soft

In a stew with white beans, sausage, and tomatoes

When I lived in Italy I would eat at a self-serve restaurant called Exki, and they used to have this amazing salad with grated carrot and fennel, shredded endive and tiny cubes of a hard, sharp cheese. I think there were some sunflower seeds in it as well. It had a light, slightly-citrusy vinaigrette. Yum!

I've been having the same dilemma, and I'm planning on trying this recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tortellini-with-Italian-Sausage-Fennel-and-Mushroom-362553

I made a fennel risotto last night - SO delicious!!! A variation from Jamie Oliver's website... Slice the fennel and put it in a hot frying pan with garlic and a sprinkle of salt - then pop a lid on and let it slowly cook for about 20 mins... Cook up your risotta as usual with plenty of wine and when it's almost done pop in the fennel and sprinkle with lemon zest and chilli - DIVINE!

We really enjoy braised fennel, braised slowly with olive oil and broth. It makes for a wonderfully sweet, silky side dish.

On pizza - SO good!!
http://moreterriers.blogspot.com/2011/04/and-weekend-is-over.html

here's one of my favorite cooked fennel recipes: http://allrecipes.com/personalrecipe/62080552/fennel-in-wine-honey/detail.aspx

I had the same dilema in the first year we were members of a CSA - I had no idea what to do with fennel. I found this recipe for Potatoes Au Gratin (Scalloped Potatoes) with Fennel and Bacon. It was delicious!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/potatoes-au-gratin-with-fennel-and-bacon/detail.aspx

Chicken and Fennel Flatbread!

A little bit of Fennel in your normal green salad is nice too! If you do that every day, you will use maybe one fennel per week?
We make a very nice gratin with fennel, tomatoes, some parmesan and a little bit of cream and italian herbs, I don't have the English recipe but maybe this will inspire you to try your own version?
Also, I like to cut the fennel small, roast it with olive oil and rosemary in a pan, add lemon juice, salt, cayenne then add some crème fraiche, mix it with pasta and serve it with parmesan.

At aperitifs in Rome during my study-abroad days, I often saw fennel cut into thin wedges alongside carrot sticks and dips as a cruditee.

I just checked out The Breakaway Cook by Eric Gower from the library and there are several flavorful and intriguing fennel recipes featured in it.

Seconding what someone else said above: Saute fennel slices in olive oil or butter, with a little salt and pepper. You can also use the fronds in a salad or salad dressing (I put 'em in both). Easy peasy.

My main fennel meals:

Fennel risotto (fry the fennel - with fennel seeds as well if you want even more of a kick - and add to your usual risotto bianco recipe, if you have one - and if not go on Jamie Oliver's website for his!).

Quarter a fennel and put it in a baking dish with cherry tomatoes and a handful of olives. Roast in the oven for 30 mins, and serve with pasta and parmesan.

Slice thinly, mix with feta cubes and pomegranate seeds, and a balsamic-olive oil dressing.