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Comfort Foods

Here are my favourite easy comfort foods which I enjoy at home.

For winter nights I love to make a big plate of bangers and mash. I fry the sasuages well on a low heat with some onions. Then I take off the sasuages after 20 minutes, I like to cook them slow so they are nice and firm. Then with the onions still in the pan I add some Bisto, pepper, Worstershire sauce and cornstarch. This creates a nice thick, rich gravy. For the potatos I boil well, shake the pan to break them up a bit, add seasoning, milk, a touch of fresh parsley (if I have some) and plenty of butter. Served with a nice big dollop of tomato ketchup. Delicious.

For healthy lunches I have a few options but my favourite is carrot and corriander soup. It is so easy and I make a big batch so gives 6 servings. Simply boil 900g of carrots and then add some chopped corriander, sugar and a stock cube. When soft, blend and then garnish with a little more corrisnader. Sounds too simple doesn't it? It is actually great like this. You can also add any of the following which work well: potato, onion, garlic, squash, pinch of cummin, chilli, milk, cream. I put the servings into small plastic containers so they can be blasted in the microwave. I servce with thick toasted wheat bread with butter and sometimes a spread on.

Talking about insurance, loans, and PPI claims with Mrs. Callahan

credit cardMy favorite customer in the boutique that I work for came in today. Mrs. Debra Callahan has always been one of my favorite customers. She's a very chatty 68-year-old lady, who loves red pumps and white bags. She was her usual bubbly self when she came in to buy a pair of shoes for her daughter's wedding. "Sweetheart, I can afford to buy two pairs of shoes today because I just got my refund for my PPI! Can you get me a size 8 of this gold one please?"

When I came back from the stockroom bringing Mrs. Callahan's shoes, she continued, "Did you take out a loan lately? Did you buy a PPI along with it?" I had no idea what she was talking about. "PPI is payment protection insurance. It's usually sold to you by a bank or financial institution when you apply for a credit card or take out a loan in case something happens to you and you can no longer pay your debt," she explained to me. She further explained that PPI's are generally applicable only to employed individuals who are 18 to 65 years old. However, a lot of people have been mis-sold their payment protection insurance. Some people were told that their loan or credit card application won't be approved if they don't buy the policy. In other cases, the banks sneak the policy into the loan. They don't tell the borrowers about adding the policy. In other cases, which was what happened to Mrs. Callahan, she was sold the policy even if she didn't need it since she was already retired when she applied for her credit card.

"I did apply for a credit card last year, and I remember a "Credit Care" item appearing on my statement," I told her after she finished her explanation. "I actually don't know what it is all about, but I didn't think about it too much." Mrs. Callahan excitedly clapped her hands. "That could be it! If you are unsure, you can check out this site out, " she said as she wrote the website http://www.ppi.com/ on a piece of paper. "They'll check if you are eligible for a refund!"

When I got home today, I found out that http://www.ppi.com/ actually does the processing of your PPI claim, and they won't charge anything until you receive your refund. Now all I have to do is to look for the paperwork for my credit card application. 

(Photo credit: Image: hin255 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

The blog of Earnestine Zulauf

The blog of Earnestine Zulauf
woman laptop

Hello! This is Earnestine Zulauf, and I decided that I want to try my hand in blogging. I hope that I can come up with
interesting and helpful posts that will earn me a lot of followers and friends (and even haters) from all over the world. There are so many things that I would like to write about: the many interesting characters I meet in the bar every night, the women who come in the boutique and the drama that comes along with them, the new designer bag that I wish I could buy, the hot young guy I met while I was wall climbing last Saturday. These may seem unimportant to everyone else, but I find these things fascinating. Of course, there are also serious topics that I would like to discuss such as how you should manage your finances or how you can keep the fire in your relationship burning. 

I am so excited to start with this blog. I hope that you stay with me to the end!

(Photo credit: Image: adamr / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)