Cooking for someone you love can set your heart and home ablaze.
asserted
you → cook → heart
My high school sweetheart (now ex) and I found this out the hard way.
asserted
sweetheart → find → this
We were driving around in his silver Mustang, running errands on a day off from school, when I declared, “I want French fries.”
asserted
I → drive → fries
My ex, who loved cooking enough that he’d later graduate from the Culinary Institute of America, offered to make some when we returned to his mom’s house, but I
asserted
we → love → house
I wanted Burger King French fries.
asserted
I → want → fries
We started to argue.
asserted
We → start → ?
He thought I was being dumb.
asserted
I → think → ?
“Do you know how many girls would love to have a boyfriend who cooked for them?”
asserted
who → know → them
I could feel myself losing my appetite.
uncertain
myself → feel → appetite
“I think you’re a great cook, but you can’t make fries like BK.
asserted
you → think → BK
They have a specific taste.”
asserted
They → have → taste
“I bet I can,” he said, and then he drove us back to the house where he could show off his skills.
uncertain
he → bet → skills
“You don’t even have a deep fryer,” I said to him while he was pulling out cooking tools.
asserted
he → have → tools
He looked at me with a smirk.
asserted
He → look → smirk
“I don’t need one,” and that’s when I watched him pull out a metal colander and place it into the giant pasta pot he had filled with vegetable oil.
asserted
he → need → oil
I asked, “Is that safe?”
asserted
that → ask → ?
He assured me it was.
asserted
it → assure → me
Some time when we weren’t paying attention (and let’s face it, that was pretty soon, because we were teenagers and blasting music and talking instead of watching the stove), the oil became too hot, bubbled over and whoosh!
asserted
oil → pay → stove
I screamed, “Fire, fire!” along with a few expletives.
asserted
I → scream → expletives
It’s embarrassing to say that at 16 years old, I didn’t know the proper protocol for handling a grease fire.
asserted
I → ’ → fire
I’m sure it was covered in some educational program I watched as a kid, but in the moment I went completely blank.
asserted
I → ’m → moment
Now I know you’re supposed to turn off the burner and smother the flame.
asserted
you → know → flame
Another option would have been to grab something like the Ougist Multipurpose Fire Extinguisher, which can handle Class K fires, as well as Class A (combustibles), B (liquids and gases) and C (electrical).
asserted
which → grab → fires
Maybe there was a fire extinguisher on the kitchen windowsill — I honestly don’t remember now — but if there was, I wouldn’t have known how to use it.
asserted
I → be → it
That’s why experts recommend practicing before emergencies arise, as well as testing them so you know they’re working properly.
asserted
they → ’ → them
What makes the Ougist fire extinguisher my preference now is its pull-and-press mechanism.
asserted
extinguisher → make → ?
No pins, squeezing or any “how does this work?” moments when you don’t have the time to ask.
asserted
you → work → time
According to the City of New York’s Fire Department, 33% of home fires come from unattended cooking accidents, so it’s really one of those things everyone should have in their home.
uncertain
everyone → accord → home
My boyfriend grabbed the pot with the intent of throwing it into the garage.
asserted
boyfriend → grab → garage
(For context, it was empty, the sink was filled with dishes and both of us were panicking.
asserted
both → fill → us
And then he tripped and oil spilled on his hands and feet.
asserted
oil → trip → hands
It was like someone doused in gasoline coming into contact with a lit match.
asserted
someone → douse → match
He still managed to hurl the pot into the garage, where it landed right side up, still ballooning with flames.
asserted
it → manage → flames
I screamed, “Roll! Roll!”
asserted
I → scream → ?
Technically, more helpful than telling him to throw a flaming pot of oil into a garage, but not as helpful as it would have been if we had something like an emergency fire blanket handy.
asserted
we → tell → blanket
Like an extinguisher, it’s something everyone should have, and may be even easier to use, because all one needs to do is pull the tab, grab the blanket and smother the flame.
uncertain
one → ’ → flame
Plus, they come in a very compact package, so they’re easy to tuck into a cupboard or drawer.
asserted
they → come → cupboard
As long as everyone in the family knows where it it, you should be set.
asserted
you → know → family
Since we didn’t have an emergency blanket in the house, rolling around on the ground was the next best option for my then-boyfriend.
asserted
rolling → have → boyfriend
With the flames out, I could see the damage to his skin, now charred like a marshmallow, oozing and red.
uncertain
I → see → marshmallow
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
