Competition ensues with who can handle the hottest heat. Hot giardiniera is in the refrigerator, not just a tiny jar from the grocery store, but the giant Costco jar. It disappears quickly. It’s added in large quantities to everything: hamburgers, grilled cheeses, salads, soups, leftovers from home. A few folks grow their own jalepenos, and then bring them in for taste testing, and for “who can handle the hottest heat” testing.

Forget boring ketchup or mustard. Hot sauce, fiery peppers, blazing tabasco: these are the Kindle lunchtime staples.

One thing that’s clear – the heat of the fire brings people together, just like any successful production should. Eating spicy food is just another way we keep our creativity flowing.

Bring the heat – we can handle it!

Here’s our favorite music from Summer 2010:

1. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa by Vampire Weekend
2. Fun, Fun, Fun by Pharrell
3. Howlin’ For You by The Black Keys
4. Golddust by DJ Fresh
5. Feelin’ Good by Nina Simone
6. Nothin’ on You by B.O.B.
7. Crave You by Flight Facilities featuring Giselle
8. Fishin’ Blues by Taj Mahal
9. Tighten Up by The Black Keys
10. Odessa by Caribou

Hope y’all will enjoy this music as much as we did this year. And did you see the amazing set from the MTV Video Music Awards? Holy LED, Batman!

We’re all enjoying the good weather with the windows open, breezes blowing, and creative ideas flowing.

We’ve got lots of good news to share in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

One of the challenging (and rewarding) aspects of our business is continuing to find ways to be inspired, energized, and enthused. Luckily, we work with a lot of very talented people who strive to stay on the cutting edge of pop culture, and are willing to share that knowledge.

One way we group share our inspirations in the office is through our Inspired Board, located conveniently in the Kindle kitchen.

So whenever we take a trip to the refrigerator, we also gain some inspiration or find a new idea. Everyone in the office is invited to participate, and the rules are very lax. We ask everyone to add something that inspires them, and people can add anything to the board that inspires them personally – be it personal, business, or cultural. Photos, magazine articles, icons, advertisements, stickers, websites, cartoon characters, book reviews, album covers, show site happenings, quotes, thoughts, and jokes have all made their way to the big board, and some have even sparked fantastic ideas.

We change out the images each month, creating a dynamic, evolving piece. We save the past images in a scrapbook that we can refer to for motivation. And since all of us visit the refrigerator at least once each day, it’s easy to keep tabs on inspiration and get fired up by new ideas.

What inspires you?

We have a long-standing tradition of deliciousness here, which started way back when Kindle Communications was first formed, and we were working out of one of our Partner’s homes.  We had our first client, our first launch meeting booked, work to do and a fast-approaching deadline, so we set up camp in the dining room of our Executive Producer.

It was summer, and the long, hot Chicago summer days were perfect for a light lunch.  The other Kindlers would come over and cook lunch for the folks who were working on the show, like personal chefs!  Fish Taco day was the favorite, and became another Kindle Campfire Legend.

At long last, brought to you here, is the recipe for Fish Tacos.   Trust me, they are tasty – and easy to make!

Kindle Fish Tacos – read on for the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb fish per person (one good size filet). You can use either fresh grouper or catfish – our favorite place in Chicago to get fresh fish is L. Isaacson & Stein Fish Company on Fulton (right around the corner from our Kindle offices!)
• Bread crumbs and flour (for a light breading on the fish)
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• Milk
• Jalapenos
• Lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Onion
• Cilantro
• Cheddar cheese (or the cheese of your choice)
• Tortillas (flour or corn)

Recipe Directions:

• Rinse the fish filets under cold water
• Place the fish in a bowl of milk
• Mix some flour and breadcrumbs in a separate bowl. Season the breadcrumbs with a little salt and pepper
• Dredge the fish filets in the breadcrumb mixture
• In a cast-iron skillet heat some olive oil –  (you can use a non-stick skillet, but we like cast iron). Heat the oil until it almost is smoking (meaning very hot).
• Place the lightly breaded fish filets in the skillet and cook about 8 – 10 minutes per side (the time needed will depend on how hot the skillet is — the hotter the better).
• Chop the jalapenos, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and lettuce (the good stuff).  Watch out for the jalapenos – don’t wipe your eyes! (We like our Fish Tacos extra spicy here at Kindle)
• Warm the tortillas in a skillet
• When the fish is cooked, remove from the pan, and slice into strips or chop into chunks.
• Build a tempting fish taco with all the ingredients and have fun!

Although it’s still winter with spring fast approaching, this Kindle Fish Taco recipe will give you a little taste of summer in Chicago.

Here’s a list of what’s currently on our February playlist – the music that makes us get up and dance just a little bit at our desks.

1.    Green Light – John Legend featuring Andre 3000
2.    Move – Q-Tip
3.    Burning – Whitest Boy Alive
4.    Fancy Footwork – Chromeo
5.    Another Day – Jamie Lidell
6.    Nobody – Ne-Yo
7.    100 Days, 100 Nights – Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
8.    Chelsea Dagger – The Fratellis
9.    Just Dance – Lady GaGa & Colby O’Donis
10.  Right Round – Flo Rida
11.  Bang Bang – K’naan

Did you catch the Grammys?  We love award show season.  Remember to download music legally!

We continued with our office tradition of giving back and supporting our local community.  Each year, we collect monetary donations from the Kindle employees, and the Kindle Communications Partners match our donations.  Everyone’s generous donations allow us collectively to be generous with those less fortunate.  We adopted 5 families through St. Vincent De Paul on the south side of Chicago, and bought holiday gifts for each member of the family.   The day of shopping at Target was exciting –12 shopping carts overflowing with holiday presents for over 20 people.   We even got our own check-out lane at Target!

The shopping completed, we decided that the only way to get the multitude of presents wrapped in a timely manner was to have a wrapping party!  One Wednesday before Christmas, after the office closed for the day, we put on our Santa hats, turned on the holiday lights in the office, cranked the Christmas music on the ipod, got out the wrapping paper and tape, and went present-wrapping crazy.

Our goal was to wrap as many presents individually as possible so the kids would have lots of presents to open on Christmas morning.  With 25 Kindle employees and friends wrapping multiple holiday gifts for 21 people, the mayhem ensued – paper flying, ribbons curling, tape everywhere.

It was a good teambuilding activity for our office – people teamed up to wrap presents together, some folks were just helpers and organizers, and others cut the wrapping paper while another wrapped the gift.

When all the presents were wrapped, labeled, put into festive bags, and organized by family, we felt really good, and warm inside.

After the feel-good portion of the evening, we decided to get our game on. Because we are all competitive by nature, we had a baby picture contest. Each of us brought in a baby photo of ourselves, and then we competed to see who could get the most correct answers.

Competition was tough. Some people haven’t changed since they were kids and were super easy to identify, while some people brought in baby photos that wouldn’t have been able to be identified by even their birth mothers! Three very excited people won the photo contest and were happy with their American Express gift certificates.

The evening concluded with yummy cookies and desserts supplied by our Kindle employees and friends. The evening was a huge success from all angles – social, charity, and teambuilding.

Here’s the most festive holiday baby photo of the evening – can you guess which Kindle Communications employee this is?

Happy New Year, everyone!