A Guide to Eating Well in the Outdoors

In the intro to his new book, COOK OUT: Recipes and Tips for the Great Outdoors, Rashad Frazier tells the backstory that led to his outdoor eco-adventure company, Camp Yoshi. After growing up with family around outdoor “shindigs, potlucks, reunions, and gatherings,” on the shores of Lake Norman, North Carolina, he headed to D.C., Harlem and Brooklyn, where he began to cook and launched a catering company called Yoshi Jenkins. During those busy years, he’d escape the grind of the city with his brother Ron on “trips to nowhere.” The peace they found in nature on those excursions led to Camp Yoshi, which he runs with wife Shequeita and Ron. “A shared meal beneath the open sky has a way of grounding you, connecting you to the place and to each other,” he writes in the book. 

Now in year six, Camp Yoshi, based in Oregon, hosts trips to places like Mount Hood and farther afield to Hawaii and even Morocco and Namibia. “We're going to Japan this year,” he told us. “We have a few days in Tokyo. Then everything else is up in Niigata, so it’s more of the Japanese Alps kind of vibe.” 

In the new book, Frazier offers practiced knowledge from the field—including 80 recipes. You’ll find his fish and grits and gumbo or french toast with pear compote. He graciously shared his banana bread with espresso butter with us below. 

“I really wanted this book to be a guide —to help people understand the mistakes I made and things to expect that you would never think about getting outside,” he says. 

Wildsam: I noticed early on in the book you mention that great outdoor cooking often starts at home. 

Rashad Frazier: Oh for sure. Most of the meals you can really flex on outside should begin at home. Listen, there are fun things to prep. But all the annoying, non-fun stuff needs to be done at home. You don't get extra points for chopping onions at camp. I'd rather not be doing that as soon as drinking a beer and sitting down, relaxing. 

The biggest goal I hope you take away from the book is to spend as much time as possible sitting down with your family and your friends, enjoying yourself.

What are some dishes that you’re proud to share in this book? 

RF: I would say restructuring the whole s'mores thing (Adult S’mores with Ganache and Marshmallow Pillow). 

I'm a big fish lover, so the Coffee-Rubbed Whole Fish is always great. The Chicken Peanut Stew is really good. As far as meals on the fly, I love a good sloppy joe (Yoshi Joes). My kids kill those. It's with turkey, but you can do tofu if you want. 

For breakfast, the French toast. It's pretty traditional, but one thing I do for the custard— for the batter—I throw in flour as a thickening agent. Sometimes eating outdoors, it's really hard to get that crusty exterior the way you want. The wheat or the flour, gives a nice golden crust. 

Can you tell us more about the banana bread you’re sharing with us? 

RF: It can be made at home and then that espresso butter can be applied to anything, man. My kids love it. I wrap it in some parchment paper, a bandana. If we’re out camping a long time, I'll throw it in a skillet, rehydrate it, and kind of let it sear. 

When my parents took me on road trips when I was a kid, they always packed snacks to keep me quiet: think trail mix or PB&J. Years later, after I became a parent, my family was road-tripping in Hawaii, and banana bread was sold at roadside stands and rest stops everywhere we went. We realized it was the perfect road trip snack: filling but not too heavy, indulgent but still kinda healthy. Banana bread has been our go-to on-the-go ever since. 

The beauty of banana bread is that you can eat it at any time. Pack it on a hike, serve it for breakfast with a little maple syrup, or eat it for dessert with ice cream. It will always be a hit.

At Home:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

If you’re using them, spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet or in a pie pan (easier to shake around so you get even toasting) and toast in the oven until slightly browned and fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes. Set them aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a large bowl, combine the bananas, eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and banana extract (if using) and whisk until they’re just combined. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until blended. Using a spoon or spatula, gently fold in the toasted nuts (if using).

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake in the middle of the oven until the top is springy and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. While the banana bread is baking, make and store the Espresso Butter according to recipe instructions.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a rack to cool completely. Place in an airtight container; it will keep for up to 4 days.

At Camp: 

To reheat the banana bread at camp (optional, but recommended), preheat a skillet over medium heat. Cut the banana bread into 2-inch slices, then wrap each slice in parchment paper. Add the wrapped slices to the skillet and cover with a lid. Warm each slice for about 3 minutes.

Most of us think of coffee only as a drink, but it’s so magical when used in other ways. It’s somehow both savory and sweet, salty and nutty, and adds so much depth. It gives that “whoa!” factor to anything you put it in—here, it makes butter even better.

In a medium bowl, mix the butter, espresso, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt until you get a light, airy consistency. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Find Rashad Frazier’s COOK OUT: Recipes and Tips for the Great Outdoors at bookshop.org or the independent book shop of your choice. 

Recipes and headnotes reprinted with permission from COOK OUT: Recipes and Tips for the Great Outdoors by Rashad Frazier with Megan Anderluh © 2026. Photography by Alex Forestier © 2026. Published by 4 Color Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.