Earthbound Farm Spinach Salad with Beans, Beets, and Halloumi

I’ve got some exciting news to share.  I’m actually really proud of it.

If you read this blog, you’ll remember that I visited Earthbound Farm last October, learning all about how they operate as an environmentally-conscious, honest company as well as how they actually grow and harvest all of their products.  And, if you know me as a “food-blogger-who-does-this-for-fun-not-for-profit”, you’ll also know that I’m really not that big on plastering my site with widgets, ads, and endorsements.  I’m not really into the self-promotion that I constantly see in this little realm of the internet or keeping up with what anyone else is doing.  What I am into is having fun making food, taking pictures, and then writing a little bit about it.  I want you to come to my site for those things and to enjoy a good meal-not because I can make money off of you.

That being said, when I visited Earthbound Farm, it was kind of like love at first sight (well, at least on my end.)  I love this company.  And that’s honest-no frills-no B.S.  This is a company that truly cares about what it is doing-not because they can make a huge profit, but because they actually care about what positive things they can contribute to the earth, to the environment, and to our health.  And I honestly believe that this is one of the main reasons why they are so successful (they have pretty much revolutionized organic farming on a large scale-which was something in the past that many “haters” said couldn’t be done.)  And, of course, when you are passionate about something, put a lot of love into it, and work really hard at it, good things happen.

So, all that being said…and..in the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you that I have been extended a partnership with Earthbound Farm (along with my other blogging friends that attended the inaugural trip) for the next six months.  I do have contractual agreements with them, but, these agreements are things that I would choose to make/do even without a signed contract. (This is a major win-win situation.) So, I’ll be posting some great recipes in the next coming months and regularly contributing to their Organic Bound program as a guest blogger (I’m already in the process of creating an indulgent Valentines Day post for them which makes my mouth water just thinking about it.)  I’m so happy to do this with a company that I truly feels has a similar outlook on things (probably life in general) as I do.  Do your own thing, work hard, and have integrity.

This recipe is one of Earthbound’s own.  Did you know that they actually have a huge catalog of recipes on their website?  And, contrary to what many people may think, it’s not all salads.  There’s even a recipe for mini corn dogs on there (I’m going to try that one out.  No worries. With veggie dogs, of course. Just in time for the Super Bowl.)

So, first things first.  As I didn’t do a full inventory before I went to the store, I didn’t realize I was out of white (cannellini) beans (shocking, considering I felt like I had about three cans in there that I hadn’t used in about a year. I still don’t remember what I did with them.  It’s a mystery.)  So I just used chickpeas (garbanzo beans) instead.  No big deal.  If you want a vegan version of this salad, just omit the cheese.  And speaking of the cheese, if you can’t get your hands on some halloumi, just substitute in your favorite type of cheese (some crumbly goat cheese or feta would be good here, too-you want something a little salty to match the sweetness in the walnuts.)  And don’t skip the caramelized walnuts, either-they are fantastic.  Just make sure that once they caramelize, you remove them from your skillet before they cool (unlike me…because then they all stuck to the pan and it was a near-acrobatic maneuver to remove them from the pan.)

To see the original recipe, follow this link back to the Earth Bound Farm website.  And enjoy.