My heart truly breaks for you!!! Especially knowing what it takes to accumulate, maintain and use home food storage to begin with. If I were in your situation I would... 1. Contact Brigham Young University for more information. They test these foods under different conditions and should be a good resource. 2. There may be help available through the LDS Church in your area, as well, and I would certainly pursue them for more information. 3. You might also want to check with the companies you order your food from. If you have any luck getting some definitive information, would you please share it if you have the time? The USDA guidelines I have from Food Safety Classes I have in my file contend with "regular" food (freezer/refrigerator/canned goods, etc.), but not a lot about hermetically-sealed freeze-dried foods or bulk grain. Sorry I couldn't be more help... -Grainlady

Most of this information came from the Internet or books by Rita Bingham ("Country Beans" & "Natural Meals in Minutes"). In the "Country Beans" book you will find many recipes using bean flour. - Creamy Cabbage Soup uses white bean flour. - 3-Minute "Cream of Chicken" Sooup - white bean flour - "Instant Pea Soup" - flour from green or yellow split peas - Rita's Lentil Soup - lentil flour Basic Bean Information: 1 c. whole, dried, pinto beans = approximately 1 1/8 c. bean flour 1 c. water + 1/2 c. bean flour = 1 c. "instant" mashed beans (thick mixture) 2 c. water + 3/4 c. bean flour = 2-1/2 c. "fluffy" mashed beans The thick mixture can be used in place of cooked, mashed beans in patties, loaves, casseroles, desserts, and other food products calling for mashed beans. You can substitute pinto beans with black beans milled into black bean flour. General Recipe: Bring 2 c. water to a boil. Whisk in 1 c. bean flour. Cook and stir for 1 minute, until mixture thickens. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pan and cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. This produces a fairly stiff bean mixture that is similar to commercial canned refried beans. Season to taste with your favorite seasonings including: salt cumin chili powder garlic bouillon meat or vegetable soup base powdered seasoning mixes For fluffy bean mixture: This type of bean mixture is lighter and has a creamier texture which works well for dips, burrito and sandwich fillings. Bring 2-1/2 c. water to boil, then whisk in 3/4 c. bean flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pan and cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can add Picante sauce to the "instant" refried beans. "INSTANT" REFRIED BEAN MIX (source: Country Beans) 1-1/2 c. pinto or black bean flour 1-1/2 t. chili powder 1/8 t. garlic powder (optional) 1/2 t. cumin 1-1/2 t. salt 1 t. instant minced onions (optional Mix and store in airtight container. To prepare, whisk 3/4 c. above mixture into 2-1/2 c. boiling water. Cook, while stirring, over medium heat for 1 minute, until mixture thickens. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and cook 4 minutes. Bean Flour Storage: Store bean flour in an air tight container, preferably in the refrigerator or freezer. Bean flour keeps 6 months. Other Uses: To cook bean flour soups in a microwave - whisk bean flour into seasoned hot water in a large microwavable bowl. Cook at full power for 1 minute, or until mixture boils. Stir well, then cook an additional 2 minutes. Bean flour soup in a pan - whisk navy bean flour into seasoned boiling water to make an almost instant soup or thickener in only 3 minutes. Bean flour combined with wheat flour = complete protein. Bean flour can be used in a recipe calling for flour by replacing up to 25% of the wheat flour with any variety of bean flour. Baby lima or small white beans are the mildest in flavor and the lightest in color and work well to increase the protein in baked goods if you need another use for bean flour. -Grainlady

Carol- You can make naturally-fermented bread with kefir - no sourdough starter necessary (you'll find a recipe at the link below. Maybe use half kefir and half warm water. It will help tenderize the crumb. Check the recipes for using kefir at the link below for more choices for you. I just finished fermenting a quart of kefir today and one yesterday so I was looking at these recipes for some inspiration. Perhaps it was our day to have a "deep psychic kefir bond". ;-) Happy Independence Day back at ya! -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Kefir Recipes

I mainly make homemade kefir and use it in breads these days instead of buttermilk, but in the past I've also used powdered buttermilk - with a twist. BUT, most bread recipes that call for milk or milk powder in a recipe, you can also use buttermilk - either powder or reconstituted. My twist... I use a small amount of reconstituted buttermilk to make a version of "homemade buttermilk" that is thick, rich, and tangy - more like the commercial version. Plain old reconstituted buttermilk is rather insipid and completely UN-like commercial buttermilk. How to: (source: Natural Meals in Minutes - by Rita Bingham) You can make "homemade buttermilk" with reconstituted powdered milk or regular milk - your choice. Place 1/2 c. buttermilk (commercial or reconstituted powdered buttermilk) into a quart canning jar. Fill the quart with milk (of choice) and stir well. Let stand (WITHOUT a lid) in a warm place (about 80-degrees F) until clabbered, about 12-18 hours. [Grainlady note: I place the jar in my oven with the light on - as far from the light as possible - which is usually around 80-degrees F.] When clabbered, stir and refrigerate. Bonus: You can use "homemade buttermilk" as a starter culture for your next batch. It's best if you use it within two weeks after it was made for best results. This recipe works great for even smaller amounts of buttermilk than a quart. I've included the link for SACO powdered buttermilk recipes below. They have a lot of good recipes that might help you out. I keep #10 cans of powdered buttermilk in storage and I've used some of these recipe. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: SACO powdered buttermilk