Zucchini - Fennel soup

It's not winter yet but I already feel that I want to eat de la soupe. Halloween being around the corner, all the pumpkins and other squash are out and I only want them cooked in soups. You know, soup is my easy dinner option. A nice hearty soup served with bread and cheese, that's almost perfect dinner for me!  While I know I'll enjoy the soup, I also know that my children won't be that thrilled! And that it will take it longer to feed them that evening. Well, c'est la vie! I am not going to change my menu because they don't like soup that much! I do try to make it look more appealing to them by making polenta croutons or roasting purple potatoes on the side. We also play different games to make them eat yet another spoon of soup. One of the games we love to play is the "une cuillère pour...." where we name one person in our family each time we eat a spoon of soup. We start with my children' cousins... and, that's when I am happy to have a large family! By the time we get all the 7 cousins on my side, plus the 3 cousins on my husband's side, plus the additional second-cousins whom we see every summer, we are almost done with the bowl (because let's face it, I am not serving my children super-size bowls of soup!!) Whatever game we play, I generally manage to have my kids finish their bowl of soup. It might take a while but we get there eventually! And if I am lucky, despite the "je n'aime pas la soupe", they might even ask for a second serving!
Being French, I could make soup with pretty much any kinds of vegetables. I sometimes use chicken/vegetable stock but if, like now, I am on my low-iodine diet again and therefore staying away from processed sources of sodium, I just use additional herbs/spices to flavor the soup. One thing I want to make more in this winter are beans soups (any good recipes to share?). Until now, before Fall really sets in, here is a good end-of-summer-early-Fall recipe. Good? Oh yeah, we did not have to play any games to finish it! But we did have polenta croutons! Bon Appetit!

Ingredients:
-  1 large bulb of fresh Fennel, sliced
-  3 small zucchinis, cut into small dices
-  3 small potatoes, pealed.
-  1L (32 Fl oz) of water or vegetable/chicken stock
-  30 gr (1 oz) butter or equivalent of olive oil
-  1 sprig of Thyme (optional)
-  Salt, black pepper to taste

• In a Dutch oven or thick-bottom pot, melt the butter (olive oil) over medium heat. 
• Add the garlic, fennel, zuchinis and herbs. Toss them a few times so as to coat them in butter/oil.
• Reduce heat, cover the pot with a lid and let simmer for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are really soft.
• Add water/stock, the potatoes cubes and bring to a boil.
• Simmer the soup for an additional 15 minutes or until the potatoes can be mashed.
• With an immersion blender, blend the soup.
• Add salt/black pepper to taste.
• Serve with a dollup of crème fraiche

My Personal Comments:

• You could add carrots if you have some that need to be cooked.
• You could serve this soup to a child starting solid food.