As part of the ongoing effort to find something I’m willing to pack for lunch, Wendi’s been buying some different flavors of the Campbell’s Chunky soups. It’s a great idea: Big can, pull-tab top, no water to add. I pack a can, a bowl, a spoon and some crackers and viola! As long as I’m near a microwave I’m set, right?
We started off with a couple of the chowders, most notably the Old Fashioned Potato Ham and the Baked Potato with Cheddar and Bacon Bits. Yum, good eatin’.
Today was the debut… and finale… of a new flavor in the cupboard. Chicken Broccoli Cheese and Potato. Based on the track record of Chunky soups so far, this seemed a no-brainer. Chicken and cheese in a potato soup? I could stand a little broccoli to get some chicken soup, right?
So I popped the top, poured full the bowl, covered appropriately for the microwave and keyed in the cooking time. After the two-minute stir I began to worry, as “cleaning” the spoon left my tastebuds a bit underwhelmed. When I pulled the bowl out and uncovered it after the last minute of cooking I knew something was horribly wrong.
The odor that greeted my nose as the steam fled the bowl was that of fresh vomit.
Let me state that again for effect.
A fresh can of Chunky soup smelled, when cooked, as though someone had barfed in my bowl.
Because I usually frown on wasting food, I still dipped my spoon in for a taste. My taste buds refused to veto the judgement of my olfactory passages. It didn’t taste bad, but it also didn’t taste good.
And so, into the conveniently-located toilet it went. Yay for my office being right across the hall from the restrooms. I am left with a sleeve of saltines as my sole lunch option, and with the scent of spew in the air that’s not much of an option yet. I’ll be drinking a lot of water, and I’ll be leaving the server room door open for a while. (You wouldn’t believe the gale-force winds out of that room. My office will smell like good old stale computer-room air in mere minutes.)
Don’t let this story deter you from trying the fine chowders, but steer way clear of Chicken Broccoli Cheese and Potato. This public service message brought to you by the letters M, T and V and by the numbers 0 and 1.
(Hint: It’s an anagram of sorts.)
Campbell’s Chunky
