My whole premise is to teach folks how to cook real food, make it tasty and sometimes even fancy, with whatever happens to be available. Whether seasonal foods or a pantry of stored foods, or even stuff foraged on a trip. Whether you are at home or at a friend’s with a kitchen or without, you shouldn’t have to go hungry through ignorance.

But there are some things that make any food better. Herbs and spices are easy to carry along and they fit in a backpack, but most come from exotic places. A demi-glace can make your cooking taste like it was made in a four star kitchen, but even I don’t take the time (days) necessary to make one. I buy in some of these things and keep them with me in my backpack to make any meal more special.

Below are some things that I recommend to help you to do the same.