Monday, June 26, 2006

Sticky buns & the Proulx Daughters

The four brother-in-laws started comparing notes early on in our married lives. It was a natural things to do at a family gathering. Some topic would come up and as the conversation wended it way, someone would acknowledge doing something in a particular way, which would remind another one that, "hey, my wife does the same thing!". After a few of these conversations, we quickly came to realize that there was a clear reason for this. Mr and Mrs Proulx had taught their daughters well. Clearly, they had all been schooled in "the way" to run a household. We decided to create a "Proulx Daughter's Handbook" to help keep track of these ways so that if anyone needed to know, it would be documented.
 
Truth be told, the conversation has continued for many years. A topic would come up (food storage, car maintenance, spatial arrangements, budgeting, etc...) and we would acknowledge, "Yes, that is chapter 29."  or "Yep, that is Chapter 42" because we had a mental outline of what the book and chapters would be but did not go much further than that.
 
Of the grandchildren, my two are the only girls. During one of the Proulx Daughter gatherings last year, Allie asked who was skilled in making Grandma's Sticky Bun recipe. It turned out no one had. Why? It contained a critical ingredient, yeast. It also was a two-day process. This was not something the Proulx Daughters were into. Oh, they would do spaghetti sauce from scratch (i.e. cans of tomatoes but not the "old fashioned way"). Fortunately, Allie and Carolyn took it upon themselves to call Grandma Proulx last summer to see if they could come down to learn how to make sticky buns.
 
Now, what are sticky buns you might ask? Sticky buns are the most sought after delicacy of the extended Proulx household. They are provided by Ma Proulx in quantity for the major holiday meals. There is usually enough for the meal and for several for each family to bring home. Sticky buns are a delicate pastry with cinnamon and a sugary glaze. It turns out that the original recipe actually called for a sprinkle of bits of pecan on the top but since the kids didn't like them, they were left off. Allie and Carolyn did spend the two days making the sticky buns from scratch, making the dough, letting it rise and then rest overnight before continuing the preparations and baking the next day. They have also determined that the next step would be to spend another overnight to check out their notes once more. Sometime thereafter, they would make a batch themselves and see if the family can tell the difference between the original and theirs. Assuming their batch would pass the test, then they would have successfully learned the recipe.
 
During the conversations this weekend, the story of the sticky buns recipe came up again and it was determined that the recipe needs to be published. That the aforementioned Proulx Daughter Handbook should really be part of a series. It really covers my and my brother-in-laws relationships with our respective wives. The market for that story might be limited. But if we took the task of taking it to the next generation, that the girls can work on one with a title of "Lessons from the Proulx Daughters".and it might have a bigger market.
 
So this is the first of a proposed series. Some future posts will be "Lessons from the Proulx Daughters" and some will also be from "The Proulx Daughter Handbook". Whether either of them (or both) ever get published will be determined by their reception.
 
My daughters will get credit for their assistance in the Lessons of the Proulx Daughters.
 
My wife and her sisters will get credit for inspiring the brother-in-laws for the Proulx Daughter Handbook
 
Stick around for the recipe and some family stories.
 
 
 
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