yes, dried chillies is an obvious choice. Tubes of garlic paste and tomato paste will also help transform even the most hedious Lancashire hotpot into Dorset delight.
Little things like Salami, sliced and added to main meals with some dried herbs make them a lot better. salami by the way is high in fat and gives a lot of protine bang for very little, it lasts ages as well.
Very simple things, just like you see on Ray Meares and River Cottage can help ones quality of live. Pine needle tea is somethig very easy to make, very easy to find but tastes fantastic.
Any fool can live uncomfortably in the field, being a hard man and eating s**te but to live well, eat well makes the whole thing so much more fun. And we get paid for it too, after a fashion.
Cardinal