Kabocha Pumpkin Soup recipe

This soup is velvety delicious. It's slightly sweet and nutty and contains beta carotene*.
This recipe comes from About.com/Japanese Foods

Ingredients:
• 1 lb kabocha pumpkin, seeds removed
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
• 2 cups water
• 1 2/3 cup milk
• salt and pepper to season
Preparation:
Place kabocha on a plate and heat in microwave for a minute to make it easier to cut up. Cut kabocha into small pieces. Saute onion slices with butter in a medium pan until softened. Add kabocha and saute together. Pour water and add chicken bouillon powder in the pan. Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes, or until kabocha is softened. Blend the mixture in blender and put it back in the pan. Add milk and bring to a boil, stirring the soup. Stop the heat and season with salt and pepper. (I added 1 tsp Kaiulani Spices: Hawaiian Cajun Rub & Seasoning mix)
Makes 4 servings

*Beta carotene. Beta carotene fights against cancer by both boosting the immune system and releasing a specific chemical called tumor necrosis factor. Beta carotene can block the growth of potentially cancerous cells. The recommended cancer prevention dose of beta carotene is 15 to 25 mg. per day (around 30,000 IU). This is about ten times the amount in the average American diet, but it's actually easy to get enough beta carotene in your diet without taking supplements. Best sources of beta carotene are sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, pumpkins, butternut and other types of winter squash, spinach, broccoli, mango, and papaya. Eating pink grapefruit (which contains beta carotene) instead of white grapefruit gives you a beta carotene boost. You could get enough protective beta carotene each day by eating: half a sweet potato, half a cup of pumpkin, two medium-size carrots, 1.5 cups of cooked spinach, or two medium-size mangos. Best sources of beta carotene are these:
• carrots - 1 carrot contains 4.4 milligrams
• sweet potatoes - 1 medium contains 12 milligrams
• butternut and other types of winter hard-shell squash - 1/2 cup contains 2.4 milligrams