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I had every intention of producing a range of delicious Easter recipes for you, but life and work have been incredibly busy the last while, so I have run out of time. I did, however, manage to make theses Lamb shanks with red wine, rosemary and bay leaves, which are perfect for Easter, or the whole of winter really. I made them in my amazing Instant Pot and they cooked to a fall off the bone and meltingly delicious texture in 75 minutes total with only 50 minutes of pressure cooking time. I’m ready to start embracing red wine next to the fire and get busy with more comforting food like this list of all the recipes you will need for Autumn.

In case any of you didn’t know, one of the main missions behind Drizzleanddip aside from the altruistic desire to share delicious food and my recipes on the internet, was to unearth and discover the best-ever version of any baked good that I love. There are many recipes claiming to be the best and I think the version I have in my first cookbook was probably the closest I got to it until I discovered this recipe by Ashlae from Oh Lady Cakes Blog. Coconut sugar has a delicious caramel/palm sugar taste about it so I would use Muscovado or Demerara sugar as a substitute if you cant find it. I’m also of the belief that walnuts are imperative to banana bread and I loved how they were added to the top of this loaf along with additional sugar and sea salt flakes to create a sublime crunchy topping.

On a recent trip to Johannesburg, I got to stay at the Peech Hotel again and to check out their newly built suites. The recent addition of 16 new luxury rooms has doubled the hotel’s size to a total capacity of 32 eco-chic rooms, including a two-bedroom Luxury Villa. The bathrooms are ginormous and open onto a thoughtfully designed utility area that is separated from the bedroom by beautiful screens. The Peech Hotel which is 5 minutes away from Rosebank (Gautrain) and Melrose Arch totally over-delivers on its 4-star rating and I highly recommend it.

I also wanted to shoot this in my kitchen and on my Bianca Carrara marble tabletop, which I’m so completely head over heels in love with. I’ve also had to learn how to care for marble, which as a natural stone is porous, so I compiled a few tips: How to care for the marble surfaces in your kitchen The best way to protect your marble is to prevent it from exposure to too many spills, and if it does get spilt on, to wipe it up straight away. A sealer will delay any staining on your marble, so whether you have marble floors or vanities, you will have time to clean up the spill.