Today, for some reason I got the urge to make stir-fry. Oh, I remember why – I saw a bag of edamame in the freezer and thought “YUM! Let’s do Asian food tonight, so I can eat that.” You all know sometimes even just coming up with an idea for dinner can be a chore, so I was pretty proud of myself for thinking of it. And even more proud that I would finally get to use our stir-fry wok. Yes, we got this as a wedding gift in 2006 and I’ve never used it, let alone taken off the wrapping. It was such a mometous occassion that I even decided to take a picture.

After a little trouble with the “New Easy-Tear Bag” (yeah right!), I began by following the stir-fry directions and heating some vegetable oil in the wok. I was letting it get nice and hot as I started on the rice. Within a couple minutes the oil started smoking like crazy, so my first thought was to run over and turn off the smoke alarm. It’s sensitive so it goes off really easily and the cat REALLY hates it. As I reached up to unplug it, I heard a POOF! and saw a reflection of orange in my picture frames. I gasped (and possibly said a swear word) as I realized the oil in the wok had actually burst into flames. Every fire safety tip I have ever learned escaped my memory. I knew I couldn’t throw water on it, but what was I supposed to do?!!

I grabbed the wok and ran outside, as that was the only place I could think to avoid burning up the inside of our home. I let is burn for quite awhile and when the flame got small enough, I blew out the fire. I think the wok is ruined. The non-stick coating no longer exists. But I ended up cooking dinner in a normal pan (which turned out quite delicious, I must say.) However, the more incidents like this I have, the more I’m convinced the the kitchen and I were not meant to be.