What spices?
I have a pack in my car that goes with me everywhere. it has a clean shirt and a clean pair of pants in it. it has some clean underwear and socks. Simple toiletries. A decent first aid kit. Enough of my prescription mdications to keep me through four or five days. A wool blanket. An army mess kit. An emergency shelter.
I have often had opportunity to live out of this pack on the road, but until last hunting season, never had any opportunity to actually camp out of it. So I found the things that were missing.
I had a mess kit, sure, but what was I going to cook, and how was I going to cook it? I had spam. I was able to fry some spam, and that worked OK. I was also able to peel and slice up some prickly pear, which was also ok. And I fried up some Aldi corned beef hash.
But I really needed some oil. And it would have been nice to have some salt, and pepper. Maybe even some garlic powder and coriander.
With not too much more than I had on hand, I could live pretty well, but I could eat like a KING if I had had a little oil and some spices.
I’m not talking about Sam Gamgee, hauling his whole damned kitchen with him, just a few extra things. I have already gotten an unbreakable bottle for about 6 oz of oil, and some little stacking containers for salt, pepper, garlic, etc.
What would you bring, to cook?
19 comments Og | Uncategorized
Sounds about right to me.
I’d consider maybe curry powder or cayenne or something…
I find a small grinder of steak seasoning mixture works on 90% of savory foods. Eggs, meats, even salad.
If you are of the notion, a small bottle of good hot sauce can work wonders as well.
As for oil, I believe Canola is the most stable for indifferent storage.
Weeeeeelllllllll……
A bottle of Tabasco.
Salt & pepper
Find someplace with a large-ish camping section and you’ll find a little jar with five compartments already loaded with spices and such.
+1 on the canola for long term storage.
A tube of tomato paste.
A tube of anchovy paste. (Don’t laugh, a little bit can do wonders)
A little flour. (Mix with some of the oil to make a roux)
A little vinegar. Malt, balsamic, or cider just to add some zing.
Bouillon cubes. (with roux, tomato paste, and Spam you have a nice thick stew)
Individual flavoring packets (Crystal Lite, Gatorade, etc) for your water supply. A little variety is good for the morale and the electrolytes won’t hurt.
Tea bags and sugar. One things the Brits got right. A hot cuppa improves any situation.
Dog biscuits for Frank.
BGM
Already have the tea bags, and honey instead of sugar, but the flour is good- I may substitute cornstarch, but I like the idea.
Well, there’s those good ones in the gold and black box.
Oh. . you meant CONDIMENTS. . sorry
Garlic Salt
Cinnamon
Parsley
Oregano
red pepper
Seasoned Salt
Minced Onion
balsamic vineger
tomato paste or red sauce (dried or powdered is available)
oil
a few tablespoons of flour or cornstarch to dredge meat in
a bottle of Scoville Brothers hot sauce from Valpo
and a Block of Hard cheese – Cheddar, Colby, Swiss,Gouda, Parmesan
– they will last for 1 week unrefrigerated, wrap well in plastic
I have no idea. I consider condiments to be things that are placed on already prepared food. I’m talking about hermetics that I can put in/with food as I’m cooking it. I don’t do anything hotter than Franks original, and that stuff lasts forever, so I’m OK there.
Bacon, pre-made flour for Indian fry bread and some Wesson oil, honey, and some other meat or the means to get it…Tang is always good, hot or cold also…and maybe a few tea bags tho’ I drink very little any more, we talking a week survival or just camping out?
Shoot, maybe I misunderstood…. salt and pepper and maybe some Lowry’s Season salt…
Rdennis: There’s always room for Bacon.
1. coconut oil. Solid below 75 degrees, incredibly stable, does not go rancid.
2. Cinnamon, ginger, garlic salt, dehydrated onion (matter of taste here. if you don’t like it, don’t include it)
3. Artificial sweetener like saccharine (S&L). Other stuff is brain-reactive.
4. Dried fruits/chocolate chips. Ghirardelli makes an 86% chocolate that is extremely stable, slightly bitter, and incredibly delicious.
5. Multi-vitamins
6. Mrs. Dash (any flavor)
I kind of go along with one of the earlier comments about a thing of steak seasoning…either Montreal or Chicago…it’s a good combo of salt and pepper. Another go-to seasoning for me is Johnny’s Hunters Blend Seasoning Salt.
For a sauce, like you I’m not into really hot…I like either tobasco or cholula brand Chipoltle flavor.
A solid +1 on Cholulu sauce. Good stuff. It’s a staple here, with a bottle living near the stove full time (amongst others).
The thing about a seriously good steak seasoning is most have a moderate amount of salt, plus black and red pepper, garlic, onion, thyme, and parsley. These are things I use in many savory dishes anyway.
Grits
and a hip flask with your favorite adult beverage.
iced tea?
Grits are a good idea though…
Durable, easy to prepare…
BGM
grits are portable, though the nutritional value compared to other things of the same weight, not so good. Art: We did a job for Tone’s spices years back. I got to great big bottles of the “Canadian” style steak seasoning which I love and use all the time, and even if I had to buy them, they were like $14 for a quart size container. An excellent suggestion
I don’t deal well with spicy food anymore. Once upon a time, yeah. These days, not so much. And other people around me, they like it less than even I do.
I like to keep rice on hand and maybe dried legumes – usually beans. Canned beans are easier, but take up more room. Of course, there are all kinds of canned food. Jerky is good as is and can be reconstituted in the rice or beans. Dried soup can be used as seasoning as well as soup.
I like to keep the spices simple – salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion. Schilling makes something called Fines Herbs that is compact, keeps well, and adds a bit of something extra to bland food (like rice).
In a perfect world, I think I’d bring Giada what’s-her-name to cook my Spam.
I really like Adobo seasoning for all sorts of things, but especially chicken. Chinese Five Spice powder is a favorite of mine, and I discovered recently that French Four from Penzey’s isn’t bad at all. Aleppo pepper flakes are also quite good, combining a lot of flavor with their moderate heat.
Tabasco’s Soy, Teriyaki and especially Worcestershire are always in my fridge. Dunno how they keep outside one.