New is the year, new are the hopes and aspirations, new is the resolution, new are the spirits…..

May the day-break of this new year be the beginning of many beautiful moments….. that gives us endless reason to smile always. Happy New Year to all!

HAPPY 2009!!

2008 is on its way to dissolve into the past; nonetheless, the events that occurred during this year will surely be remembered in the future. In terms of music, it is somehow more special. And this year, 2008, has given us a brilliant array of Brit-pop albums. Some of these albums must need to be mentioned.
Spirit (Leona Lewis):
British pop star Leona Lewis has broken Billboard records in the United States to become the first female British pop star to reach a number one spot on the music charts in over 20 years and became the third solo British artist ever to reach the top charts. Spirit is the debut album by British singer, Leona Lewis, released by Syco Music in November 2007 in the British Isles and worldwide during early 2008. The release of the album marks Lewis as the first winner of a major television talent show in both the UK and USA to be given a major global launch with a debut album. Lewis has made history by becoming the first female Brit to top the US charts in two decades, and denied speculation about the state of her voice. Lewis made the number one spot with her new hit single Bleeding Love. On December 3, 2008 it was announced that the album had been nominated for Best Pop Album at the Grammy Awards.

Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (Coldplay):
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (also simply known as Viva la Vida) is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was released on 12 June 2008 in the United Kingdom and on 17 June 2008 in North America. “Viva la Vida” was the band’s first song to reach number one in the United States and the United Kingdom. After their successful songs like Clocks, Speed of Sound or Yellow, Viva la Vida and Violet Hill seemed really promising from this album.

Rockferry (Duffy):
Rockferry is the debut studio album by Welsh Soul singer Duffy, first released on March 3, 2008 by Mercury Records in the US and Polydor Records in the UK. Prior to releasing the album, Duffy appeared twice on Jools Holland’s music show, performing the tracks “Mercy”, “Warwick Avenue” and her version of “The First Cut Is the Deepest”. Rockferry sold 3,758,000 copies worldwide.

Ode to J. Smith (Travis):
Ode to J. Smith is the sixth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Travis, released on 29 September 2008 in the United Kingdom and received generally positive reviews. Ode to J. Smith entered the UK Album Chart at #20, lower than many people’s expectations, who expected the album to make the top 10. The following week, probably due to a continued lack of promotion, the album fell 23 places to #43. By week 3, the album had dropped to #87 and by week 4, Ode to J Smith had left the top #100. Quite disappointing!

Dig Out Your Soul (Oasis):
Some may argue whether their genre should be included into the Brit-pop culture, however, Oasis brought out this half-Rock ‘n’ Roll, half-Psychedelic album under Brit-pop banner. This is their seventh studio album which has been released on 6 October, 2008. In the UK, the album sold 90,000 copies on its first day of release, making it the second fastest selling album of 2008, behind Coldplay’s Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.

Perfect Symmetry (Keane):
Perfect Symmetry is the third studio album by English piano rock band Keane, released on 13 October 2008 in the United Kingdom. The album’s title was released on 31 July 2008. Coldplay aren’t the only dreamy British pop-rock band with an experimental streak. On album three, Keane trick out their pretty piano melodies with tasty synths (“The Lovers Are Losing”), booming rap beats (“Spiralling”), and fuzzy new-wave guitars (“You Haven’t Told Me Anything”). The band had completely transformed their look and their new album was said to be also very unexpected! Keane performed the song live to an audience for the first time at the 2008 GQ Awards on September 2, 2008. The song won Best Track at the Q Awards on 6 October 2008, with the members of the band present at the ceremony to accept the award.

Potato bean and tomato salad

Ingredients:
2 kg small potatoes, peeled and diced
500g green beans, sliced diagonally
2 red capsicums, sliced
6 egg tomatoes, sliced thickly
Mustard dressing:
½ cup (125 ml) virgin olive oil
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp mustard
1 tsp crushed sugar
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method:
Boil potatoes until tender and then drain. Meanwhile, combine all ingredients of the mustard dressing in a bowl and mix well.
Boil or steam beans. Let the vegetables cool. Now arrange potatoes, beans, capsicum and tomatoes, and mix well with the mustard dressing. Serve cold.

Spicy Thai beef salad

Ingredients:
700g rump steak, trimmed
Chilli lime Dressing:
½ cup limejuice
1 tbsp fish sauce
3-4 Thai red chillies, sliced thinly
2/3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander root
? cup firmly packed coriander leaves
½ cup firmly packed fresh mint leaves
4 small onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp white sugar or to taste
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil

Method:
Boil the rump steak with salt and pepper. After it is done and cooled, then slice up the beef thinly.
Now take all the ingredients of the chilli lime dressing and mix well. Mix with beef and serve cold.

Grilled Portuguese chicken

Ingredients:
1 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red chilli powder
2 tsp dried oregano leaves (optional)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp green or red chilli, seeded and chopped finely
2 clove garlic, crushed
1 whole chicken (approx. 1 kg)

Method:
Combine the juice, oil, chilli powder, oreganos, salt, garlic and chicken in a large bowl. Mix well. Preferably marinate the chicken overnight. Cook chicken in medium heat in the oven till browned on both sides and cooked thoroughly. Serve it with some homemade tomato chutney.

Mutton devil fry

Ingredients:
½ kg mutton
12 flakes of garlic
5cm piece ginger
5cm piece cinnamon
2 cloves
2 cardamoms
3 large tomatoes, chopped
4 tsp plums or aloo bukhara
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
3 onions chopped
2 tbsp vinegar
Salt to taste
3 cups of water

Method:
Blend garlic, ginger, clove, cardamom, cinnamon, tomatoes and plums to a paste. Heat ghee and fry onions till brown. Add mutton, vinegar and salt to taste. Mix well in medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Add water. Cook on low heat till meat is done. Gravy will be thick.

(Collected from The Daily Star)