You have had some good responses, I don't have much imagination when it comes to selecting and preparing food. One wilderness setting we used to enjoy actually had picnic tables from when there had been a car camp there. Now many miles in after the road washed out. Boy was that nice for sitting and cooking. The State decided to remove them. ???
I suppose different people love different aspects of backpacking. It appears to me you have taken a keen interest in something that will be very rewarding. Sounds like fun to me. Let us know how it turns out. I live in the Northwest where (at least below the tree line) it is possible to make lots of windscreens, makeshift tables and stools, etc. just from sticks and logs and other bush craft materials. When we were Boy Scouts we build shelters, but that practice has now thankfully gone out of style.
BTW... my fun thing backpacking is plein air watercolor painting. My mountain Icon is a w/c painting of Mt. La Crosse in the Olympic Mountains nearby.