From a gorgeous dinner setting high in the Peruvian mountains to a seemingly lowly airport stand, coffee reigns supreme here. Though I planned to limit my indulgences, Peruvian coffee and its relatives were just too intoxicating in both aroma and taste.

High quality, handmade chocolates abound at near-nothing expense. Many are bittersweet which is body and soul satisfying to me. But where to begin and what to look for consume me …

With taste, color and texture that can bait salmon lovers, Peruvian rainbow and brown trout are mainstay protein sources and significant economic staples here.

What a plethora of fruits and cheese awaited as I traveled from region to region throughout Peru! Not only were Peruvian fruits easy on the eye, but they were beyond delicious and oh so fragrant. That’s because they were snatched at their ripest and hustled to markets or restaurants. I could taste the mountain air and smell the ocean breeze with every bite.

Wild quinoa was once praised for its leaves and seeds. Today, quinoa is considered a pseudo-grain, along with amaranth and buckwheat, with its admirable source of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. It’s considered a complete protein, with all of the essential amino acids and it’s gluten free. No wonder quinoa’s eaten in Peru for breakfast (pictured), lunch, dinner and snacks (like quinoa-based granola bars!).

I had no idea that a wealth of herbs lay south of the border! I knew all about cilantro, coriander, cumin, cloves, fennel and lemongrass, and even tried my hand with them now and then. But Cincho? Huacatay? Llanten? Maca? and Paico? Never! I was in herb heaven (or so I thought!). So I went to town and ate and drank everything that was green and in-between. Just look what happened …