It was a strange, air-conditioned wasteland to which I returned on 2 January. On my floor there were a somewhat unimpressive four of us, in a space that normally seats around 50. Bored to distraction, I dragged one of my colleagues out to watch the Tweede Nuwe Jaar procession at lunchtime.

It was stinking hot, but watching the Kaapse Klopse while snacking on takeaway sushi preserved that holiday feeling. Back at my desk, I daydreamed wistfully about a similar procession I saw while on holiday in Peru a few years ago. I’d stumbled upon a Saints Day celebration and followed it happily through the whole town with another tourist until one of the leaders beckoned us into the town hall with them. “Food is for everyone,” he insisted, as plates of hot mash, chops and corn were shoved into our hands. We ate with our fingers, sipping on beer passed round from person to person, with a small pool poured on the floor each time, for Pacha Mama, Mother Earth.

Back in SA, it’s been a good two months of celebrating and eating. Traditional flavours like gran’s recipe for minced fruit, oozing stickily out of mince pies, nutty turkey stuffing, and sautéed potatoes (always the first things to run out in our house) go hand-in-hand with that festive feeling. This year, my mother wrapped our turkey in bacon, and stuffed butter and herbs under the skin to keep it moist, and to avert the possibility of there being a low-cal option on the festive table. My aunt made one giant mince pie for dessert (a genius idea) and I, anxious to be a part of it, made the starter of caramelised onion tartlets with goat’s chevin and thyme, and a sweet, zingy lemon sorbet for dessert.

After all that food, it’s definitely time to eat healthily again. Now I’m craving crunchy greens, Moroccan salad with fresh coriander, carrots, beetroot and zesty, spicy dressing – in fact, basically every fresh, crunchy recipe in Bern Le Roux’s new cookbook, Roots, Shoots & Leaves. In case you’re feeling the same way, we’ve compiled 25 healthy recipes to kick the new year off on a good note.

But before I have a chance to get back on the wagon, our copy editor, Linda, returns to work. I’m delighted to see her, but she hasn’t been here for two hours before she derails my good intentions. The Lindt Chocolate Studio at the nearby Cape Quarter centre has started selling ice cream, she informs me, with the air of someone who has just discovered a new planet. I have the willpower of the average jellyfish, and am easily seduced by her promise that a reconnaissance mission will help to preserve that holiday feeling a little while longer.

Strolling back along the Fan Walk in the hot midday sun, licking improbably chocolatey ice cream (white chocolate with flecks of bourbon vanilla for Linda, and milk chocolate studded with hazelnuts for me) I have to confess that it’s worked.

Back in the office, we glumly survey the empty desks. “Maybe I should put up the paddling pool here,” I muse, referring to my other lunchtime purchase, intended for our balcony at home. “And fill it with gin!”

Yip, perhaps we can stretch that holiday feeling out a little while longer. Now where’s that tonic water?

Katharine

Photograph: Flare