Where is the dang cornmeal??

Living in a new country means that occasionally you look for substitutes in recipes or have to figure out how to make things yourself that you would normally find in a jar or package at home. For example, once I couldn't find cream of mushroom soup, so I made it myself. By the way, if you are an American looking for cornmeal, don't get it confused with "corn flour," which is what Americans label as "corn starch."

For Thanksgiving, Americans make many traditional foods that require ingredients that are difficult to find in Aberdeen. I hear many women complain about not finding canned pumpkin. If you're looking, they have it in the American section at TESCO. I've spent the last two days looking for turkey sausage and cornmeal. I went to 4-5 different stores! We use it in the stuffing for the turkey. Cornbread stuffing.

I finally gave up looking on my own at TESCO and asked for help. The woman I asked couldn't find it where she had found it previously. She asked me to wait in the aisle. She came back with the store manager and who I'm guessing may have just been a floor manager. I was thinking, "Whoa! Now I feel silly. hehe." The store manager was out there in his nice suit and tie, iPhone in one hand scanning the inventory, other mobile in other hand taking calls. The other guy looked at me and said, "I've been looking for polenta (essentially cornmeal I've learned) off and on for the last week!" I was standing there embarrassed. All of this to help me find cornmeal! People are so nice here! We finally found it! It was in the Indian food section. I found this very strange. I have only scratched the surface with cooking Indian food. Do many recipes require cornmeal? At any rate, now you know where to find it here!

I never did find the turkey sausage, so I found a recipe for turkey breakfast sausage. I hope it's good. I mixed it up tonight, and I'll try some for breakfast tomorrow. Hopefully, problem solved. :)