Two servings

Just a note: Are you looking for fun? Ante up!

The Las Vegas chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities will hold its fifth annual Cards for Kids Texas Hold ’em poker tournament Wednesday, Oct. 29, at the Cannery Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas. I am definitely all in! For entries and information, please contact Janae Melvin, 702-632-8242 or jmelvin@lvms.com, or log on to www.scclasvegas.org. (I promise not to cheat!)

We are down to the last four races. Things are getting tight. If you don’t have a jump start on the competition, I know that you are not sleeping right. I know that the eagerness of winning doesn’t stop. The competitive edge that you need can be had by just pulling a few more all-nighters. Sometimes working all night can have its advantages. I also think that it is a bigger advantage if you are thinking properly while you are working all night. Face it: A couple sodas, a half a bag of potato chips, and a candy bar are good. But I don’t think that they are good enough to keep your mind working efficiently, especially when you are working on something that could cost you a lot with every little mistake.

I am going to share the following recipe, which is very easy and delicious, with you so that hopefully you can eat a good meal at the track while you are on the go. It won’t take much time for preparation, so don’t worry, you will have time to finish tuning the carburetor. If you see me at the track, let me know what you think.

For the Pita
Ingredients
1 piece pita bread
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
To taste, salt
To taste, freshly ground Tellicherry pepper

Procedure
Rub the top side of the pita with the oil.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake pita in a preheated 450-degree oven until a little crunchy.
Cut into eight even pie-shaped pieces.

For the Salmon Salad
Ingredients
4 ounces sliced smoked salmon
2 cups mixed baby greens
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds
To taste, salt
To taste, freshly ground Tellicherry pepper
1/2 thinly sliced fresh tomato

Procedure
Divide the salmon into two portions.
Lay the salmon slices end to end, overlapping about an inch.
Toss the remaining ingredients together except for the tomatoes. This can be done in a resealable plastic bag.
Arrange the tossed greens at one end of the salmon and roll the salmon around the greens, creating a pinwheel effect.
Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt.
Arrange the salad, pita, and tomatoes on plate.

Please don’t make this harder than it should be. Get the items that you need, put them in the cooler, and head to the track. Buy the greens prewashed so that you do not have to wash them at the track. This whole process at home and at the track combined should not take more than a few minutes. If you don’t want to turn on the oven at home, you can improvise by heating the pita bread on your grill at the track.