< Previous70 COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2022 HOMEPORT COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2022 71 EXPERIENCEMATTERS! www.SouthLandTitle.net 409.744.0727-6710StewartRd.,Ste200,Galveston,TX77551 F A M I L Y - O W N E D F O R O V E R2 5 Y E A R S Fallin love WITHYOURBUYING/ SELLINGEXPERIENCE OURTEAMOFPROFESSIONALSAREREADYTOGUIDEYOU THROUGHYOURREALESTATETRANSACTION.WE’VE HELPEDMAKEGALVESTONHOMEFOROVER25YEARS. TELLYOURREALESTATEAGENTTHATEXPERIENCE MATTERS!ASKFORSOUTHLANDTITLE! BESTTITLECOMPANY 2022|2021|2020 BESTLAWFIRM 2022|2021|2020 BESTATTORNEY 2022 Take the stairs to the third level, look up and you’ll see a sculpture of a smallish yellow man going up a ladder Lucas bought at an art festival. “Blink and you will miss him,” she said. As you ascend to the third floor to Lucas’ loft, look down toward the liv- ing room for a spectacular panorama view of the art and furnishings. “I have the best vantage point in the house from here and it’s nice to see how everything comes together,” he said. Above Lucas’ desk is a Fanch Ledan contemporary lithograph with vibrant colors and an acrylic dark silver sculpture of a woman tucked in the corner. A trio of Carol Thomas watercolors and a collection of primitive masks by Seabrook artist Kay Cox hang above a mid-century modern sofa on the opposite wall. The exterior of the house is just as artful as the interior. With its oblong width, surrounded by a scattering of tall trees, the house’s exterior is the perfect place to display more art. Of note is the “Jazzman,” — a tall figure playing a drum, all made from car parts. “I saw him in a window in a strip center, so I asked how much, they gave me a price and I took it home,” Lucas said. Houston artist Michelle O’Michael’s piece of an eye and crescent moon is the newest sculpture to arrive and will be nice company for Fannin’s purple steel circle, the motorcycle he made of recycled materials and many others. There’s always room for more art, they said. (Opposite) The exterior of Sylvia Lucas and Paul Fannin’s Clear Lake Shores home is just as artful as the interior. The screened- in porch makes for a nice place to sit in cooler weather.72 COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2022 WWW.THEBUFFALOGRILLE.COM 4080BissonnetSt Houston,TX77005 1301S.VossRd Houston,Texas77057 Lil'BuffaloGrille GalvestonIsland 13EviaMain Galveston,Texas77554 OPENONGALVESTON'SWESTENDINEVIA StillTwoGreat HoustonLocations: November 18 through December 10 presents www.islandetc.org for tickets 2317 Mechanic Street Galveston COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2022 73 “I have been banking with HomeTown since I was in high school. This was my first checking account! This is a quintessential community bank. When you walk in, you’re greeted like family and see so many familiar faces!” Hal Rochkind Rochkind Insurance Customer Since 1998 A Quintessential Community Bank. VJ Tramonte Joe Tramonte Realty, Inc. Customer Since 2002 HomeTown Bank to the Rescue! “To me, one of most important features to tout is that HomeTown Bank has multiple branches. After Hurricane Ike in 2008, when the two Galveston branches were closed, my family and I were staying with family in Clear Lake. It was great seeing President Jimmy Rasmussen and Senior Vice President Marvin Langston at the League City Branch, greeting us. I had brought many important papers with me and it was a relief to be able to utilize a temporary safe deposit box. HomeTown Bank came to the rescue!” Galveston • Pearland • League City • Friendswood • Alvin • HomeTown.Bank OOOOO Five-Star “Superior” rating by BauerFinancial, Inc., awarded June, 2022 OOOOO74 COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2022 COUNTER CULTURE SIMPLE PLEASURES Most everything in this San Leon home connects to the kitchen, food and memories story by SUE MAYFIELD GEIGER photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS P eggy McGowen knows a thing or two about kitchens. McGowen, after all, is the founder of Kitchen & Bath Concepts in Houston and is past president of the National Kitchen & Bath Association. After 42 years in the business, McGow- en is semi-retired, doing occasional consulting, while focusing on her San Leon waterfront home and the simple pleasures of winding down, she said. In McGowen’s home, the dining room/den, patio and a recently built greenhouse all are connected to food, memories and the heart of the home, she said. “We bought the house in 1995 as a weekender, as we were still living in Houston,” McGowen said. “We did our first remodel in 1999, remodeling again after Hurricane Ike, adding an outdoor kitchen. Now that we live here full-time, we continue to make upgrades.” The kitchen today has the same footprint with a mix of what was salvaged from Ike, which struck in 2008, and newer amenities, like Carrara marble countertops, white cabinetry by Wood-Mode with reeded glass inserts and Sub-Zero/Wolf appliances. A surviving Chantal pot rack hangs above a new kitchen island with drawers of stained cherrywood, all atop new hardwood floors. “I have several pieces of cookware by Chantal that I’ve had for 25 or 30 years,” McGowen said. “I also have over 100 cookbooks and my favorites are the ones that tell stories about the cook, their kitchen, the origin of the recipe, ingredients and interesting notes about shortcuts and substitutions.” (Right) The kitchen in Peggy McGowen’s San Leon home fea- tures Sub-Zero/Wolf appliances, a Chantal pot rack that hangs above a granite-topped island made of stained cherrywood. COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2022 75 COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2022 7576 COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2022 76 COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2022 COUNTER CULTURE McGowen is a fan of various oils, includ- ing olive, peanut and sesame, and has a vast collection of salts, spices and herbs. McGowen, who prefers cooking savory foods to sweet, grew up in Port Arthur, and knows her way around a good pot of gumbo, she said. “I love garlic, all sorts of salts that are garlic-infused, peppers with garlic and truffle salts,” she said. “I’m a fan of garlic powder and granulated garlic as well as granulated onion.” (Left) the kitchen is open to the dining room and sitting area that overlook Galveston Bay. (Below) The dining room table and chairs were salvaged after Hurricane Ike in 2008 flooded the house. (Opposite) A pine hutch in the dining room and the Royal Copenhagen Christmas plates displayed in it also survived Ike. COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2022 77 COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2022 7778 COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2022 COUNTER CULTURE Most of McGowen’s furniture in her dining room/den are made of reclaimed pine and survived Hurricane Ike, includ- ing the dining table and a hutch used to display Royal Copenha- gen Christmas plates and other collectibles. The dining room chairs bear some scars, but now sport a trendy distressed look. A few steps from the kitchen are the patio and greenhouse that both tie into food in vari- ous ways. Recently built, the cathe- dral-shaped greenhouse with three stained-glass hangings — two matching beveled ones and one lancet shaped — are strik- ing features with the aura of a chapel. The exterior structure is made of HardiePlank, glass panels and sliding windows. The interior and shelves are made of pine wood, teeming with pots of herbs, flowers and succulents. “A quartz countertop and a 42-inch stainless steel sink make potting a breeze, and it will be handy to snip fresh herbs and take them into the kitchen for COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2022 79 SMALL BITES Favorite cookbook: “Crazy Sis- ta Cooking: Cuisine and Conversa- tion with Lucy Anne buffett” (Jimmy buffett’s sister) Mainstays in pantry and re- frigerator: Olive oil, lemons, fresh basil and rosemary, garlic and Holy Trinity (onions, bell pepper, celery). Tip: Use smoked salt when cooking salmon. Mementos from the past: » “My grandmother’s tin measuring cup is beaten and worn and bent on two sides for pouring. All of her six children played with this cup, learned to drink out of it and cut their teeth on it.” » Grandmother’s steel blade pastry blender and dough cutter. LEMON MERINGUE PIE For the filling: 1½ cups sugar 7 tablespoons cornstarch Dash salt 1½ cups water 3 beaten egg yolks 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel 2 tablespoons butter ½ cup lemon juice 1 baked 9-inch pastry shell For the meringue: 3 egg whites 1 teaspoon lemon juice 6 tablespoons sugar For the filling: Combine 1½ cups sugar, cornstarch and salt in sauce- pan. Stir in water. bring mixture to a boil over medium heat and cook stirring constantly until thick. remove from heat. Stir small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks, then return to remaining mixture in pan. bring to a boil and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. remove from heat. Add lemon peel and butter. Slowly stir in lemon juice. Cool to luke- warm. Pour into baked pastry shell. For the meringue: beat egg whites with 1 teaspoon lemon juice until soft peaks form. Gradually add 6 tablespoons sugar, beat until stiff. Spread meringue over filling, sealing to edges of pastry to avoid shrinking. bake in 350 F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Cool thoroughly before serving. (Below) A tin measuring cup, that belonged to Peggy McGowen’s grandmother, along with a steel blade pastry blender and dough cutter hang from the Chantal pot rack hanging in her kitchen. The measuring cup is well worn and bent for pour- ing. (Right) McGowen is more of a savory cook, but her old-fashioned lemon pie with homemade pie crust and meringue has been a hit at gatherings. (Opposite, clockwise from top left) McGowen built a greenhouse where two meyer lemon trees stood until the 2021 freeze. She now has a place to repot plants or keep them protected in the cooler months; a large painting of San Pasqual, recognized as the Patron Saint of cooks, is a focal point of the covered patio; McGowen grows herbs in containers on the patio near her kitchen door; the greenhouse features stained- glass windows, pine shelves and a work sink with ample counter space. recipes,” McGowen said. A nearby patio isn’t only a place to sit and enjoy the breeze but also is close to Mc- Gowen’s mojito garden where three kinds of mint are thriving. The newest addition to the patio is a large painting of San Pasqual — 1540-1592 — born in Spain and recognized as the Patron Saint of cooks. “He was a Franciscan monk known for making simple foods in his monastery’s humble kitchen,” she said. “I saw this at Maas Nursery in Seabrook, and it was in bad shape, but I had it restored by artist Gary Holman, and it’s now hanging on the patio wall, so he’s close to the kitchen.” McGowen has been married to her husband, Maurice, for 61 years, has two daughters and four granddaughters. While visiting her daughter in Los An- geles a while back, they were invited to a party and everyone was encouraged to take a dish. “I made an old-fashioned lemon pie with meringue, and it was a real hit,” she said. “One of the guests took a picture of herself eating the pie, licking the saucer and sent it to me. They must have liked it.” Next >