Sometimes all we need is rest and a good meal

'while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of Yahuah.' (1 KINGS 19:4-8)

This topic is nothing groundbreaking. If you google 'the power of a nap and a snack', there will be hundreds of nice articles on this Bible passage, so my objective here is to be one to give another shout of hope, not so much to bring anything new.

In case you are not familiar with this story in the Bible, let me give you a quick summary before we talk about the prophet Elijah: After Salomon's reign as a punishment for his transgressions, Israel and Judah were separated, so many kings followed in both territories and many of them were idolatrous and 'did evil in Yahuah's eyes'. And they would make mess after mess then later pray for the Father when shit hit the fan. In all cases, Yahuah would come to their rescue and forgive them and still they never learned. Sort of like that junkie son who steals from his parents and goes to jail and his parents still show up to bail him out.

In Elijah's time, the Israelite king Ahab married Jezebel, a Phoenician princess who worshiped Baal and ordered all prophets of Yahuah to be executed. She was also famous for using a lot of make up and for sacrificing children and adults to her 'god'.

Now the aforementioned verse in the beginning of the post is the aftermath of Elijah's obedience to Yahuah's orders to go to Ahab to tell him he would have rain after a three-year drought. Then Elijah asks Ahab to bring 450 priests of Baal to town so he can show them that Yahuah is more powerful than their god. And while the priests of Baal were not able to burn an offering by asking for their god's help (even with all those children they sacrificed to him, go figure), Elijah relied on Yahuah and He burned the whole thing even after the priests had thrown several liters of water on the altar. Well, after this episode, Elijah slaughtered all the priests of Baal and Jezebel got pissed off and sent him a message saying she would kill him.

When Elijah receives her message, he somehow loses all his confidence, gets hysterical and runs for his life in the wilderness. He feels so hopeless in his earthly existence that he asks to be killed by Yahuah to get his misery over with.

Can't we all relate to Elijah here? that moment of despair, when we fell so fed up and drained - that dead end after so much effort put into something good yet we still get cornered by evil forces or people and strength runs out!

The Father listens to Elijah's prayer and in his grandiose mercy and understanding, He acknowledges that His servant's burden was too heavy and puts him to sleep. He also offers him two meals between naps, so after his good rest and on a full stomach he is ready for what comes next.

If it was hard for Elijah who had a 'direct line' with the Creator, imagine for us, who are not able to see or communicate with the spiritual realm? Still Yahuah knows when we have our hearts heavy with anxiety and pain. If you're lucky enough to have a comfy bed, a warm shower and a meal at home, take a rest and nourish your body, for we all need a break sometimes.

Here is a 'feel good' meal recipe for you:

Pasta a Sorrento

• 400 g dried or fresh penne or fusilli pasta

• 600 g of pretty firm, ripe tomatoes or two 400 gm cans of Italian peeled plum tomatoes

• 200 g of Italian passata

• 200 g of vegetarian mozzarella OR goat’s cheese chopped into small cubes and drained in a colander

• 60 g of finely grated vegetarian cheddar cheese

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled (or to taste)

• 3 tbsp fine white breadcrumbs

Preparation:

1. Blanch the fresh tomatoes for 5 minutes in boiling water, transfer the tomatoes with a slotted spoon into a bowl of cold water, drain them and then peel them, remove the seeds and chop coarsely.

2. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and gently fry the garlic for 2 minutes then remove the cloves. Add the tomatoes and passata and season with oregano, salt and pepper. Stir and cook on a simmering heat for 15 minutes. If using the canned tomatoes, crush with a potato masher when in the pan.

3. In the meantime, add the pasta to boiling salted water and cook according to the packet instructions or longer for your liking. Fresh pasta is even better and cooks in just a few minutes – your choice.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (180°C Fan oven), gas mark 6.

5. Drain the pasta in a colander and return to the pan. Add to the tomatoes and stir thoroughly. Keep the pan on a low heat setting for 5 minutes and stir occasionally. Turn off the heat and pour about half of the pasta sauce mixture into a 20 cm x 30cm lightly oiled ovenproof tureen and spread to make the first layer.

6. Add the mozzarella / goat’s cheese cubes on to the pasta sauce layer. Cover with the remaining pasta sauce and spread evenly. Sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese thinly over the top layer and finish with a layer of breadcrumbs.

7. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until the cheese is completely merged and amalgamated with the tomato sauce and has formed a dense and fragrant sauce. Remove from the oven and let it settle for 2 minutes.

8. Serve into warmed bowls, trickle extra virgin olive oil over the top layer and garnish with basil leaves.

9. Serving suggestion: Serve on its own or with fresh salad of your choice or broccoli spears.

A good wine to wash it down goes well... and don't forget your siesta afterwards ;)