Poaching is a "very good, very unique use of the orange," Wemischner says. Tangelos are also well-suited to poaching because they are somewhat tarter than oranges, a trait that is counter-balanced by the use of sugar in poaching.

To poach a whole orange, wash it well. Then use a skewer or fine-pointed instrument to ream the skin all over so that the syrup penetrates and is absorbed by the orange. Use a syrup of equal quantities of sugar and water.

Cook over low heat until the orange becomes transparent. This will take about an hour at a simmer. For best results, cook the oranges over the course of day or more – cooking for half an hour, soaking and then finishing with a final half hour of cooking. This allows the mixture to macerate, says Wemischner.

When the cooking is completed, take the oranges out of the syrup and cut them in half.

Scoop out and discard the contents.

You can make use of the shells by filling them with freshly grated coconut moistened with some of the syrup. In lieu of fresh coconut, use thick shreds of unsweetened, desiccated coconut, which can be found in health food stores

The syrup left after poaching oranges can be used as a base for many things, Wemischner says. Here are three ideas:

lUse it as a sweetener in tea
lMake a mustard vinaigrette with syrup, mustard, vinegar and olive oil
lBoil hot chile peppers in the syrup for use as a sauce over chicken

Kumquats are a springtime citrus fruit with a unique attribute. Unlike other citrus fruits, their skin is actually sweeter than the tart pulp inside, says Wemischner.

To poach kumquats, use a lighter syrup made with two parts water to one part sugar. And cook them for half an hour or until they are tender. You can also poach them in aromatic honey and ginger, says Wemischner.

Serve the kumquat syrup over vanilla ice cream with crushed toasted pine nuts, "a very Mediterranean, Spanish treatment." Alternatively, use almonds instead of pine nuts.

The syrup can also be used as a basis for an ice cream or sorbet.

Given its vivid, crimson color, the juice of the blood orange is a good candidate for use in sauces and sorbets, says Wemischner.

For a classic use of the distinctive Mediterranean fruit, which is said to have descended from a spontanenous mutation in orange groves in Malta several centuries ago, make a coral colored cream sauce. This classic Maltese sauce, a light beurre blanc, is ideal for use over swordfish or asparagus.

To make the sauce, saute shallots in butter until they are tender. Add enough white vinegar to float the shallots off the bottom of the pan. Reduce the mixture to a glaze. Whisk in unsalted butter to create an emulsion. Add a few tablespoons of blood orange juice – about as much as you can extract from one small orange. Pour the sauce over swordfish or asparagus and add a sprinkling of capers or fresh chopped herbs.

To make sorbet with the juice of citrus fruits, such as kumquats or blood oranges, squeeze the juice, measure and add an equal amount of a syrup composed of equal parts sugar and water. Place the liquid in the freezer. Stir at half hour intervals until it crystalizes, a process that will take perhaps three hours.

Serve the sorbet by itself, with a bittersweet chocolate sauce, or with Campari or another Vermouth-type apertif.

"Fennel is one vegetable that you either love or leave alone. But this treatment, which combines the flavors of sweet licorice with bittersweet orange, may convert even those who find the unaccustomed anise-like note jarring in a vegetable," Wemischner writes in his first book, The Vivid Flavors Cookbook (Lowell House, l994).

"When it comes to this pale green bulb, I can never get too much of a good thing," Wemischer continues. "Believing that if one texture is good, two are better, I place crisp, raw matchsticks of the vegetable on a base of twice-cooked, ‘melted’ fennel and drizzle the whole delicate pile with a vinaigrette infused with Seville orange marmalade, fresh juice, and dried tangerine peel."

2 large fennel bulbs, with feathery tops attached (about 2 lbs. total)