Spinach Salad with Pears

I love making fabulous, good-for-you foods.  I also love being able to cook for family.  So, when I get to create amazing foods to share with family, I always feel so warm and happy.  This weekend Scott's family was up for Forest Festival.  They arrived Friday evening, and because I had the day off, I was blessed with time to create an awesome dinner and delicious dessert for Friday night.  Dinner was homemade pizzas using my 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust recipe, this Spinach Salad with Pears and chocolate bread pudding for dessert.  We had 4 different pizzas: a plain cheese pizza (for my 4 year old niece), a tofu-mushroom-ricotta pizza, a roasted broccoli and red onion pizza and a butternut squash-parsnip-leek-feta pizza.  I wanted a simple salad that could stand out next to these pizzas.  We were given pears from a friend down the road who has a beautiful little pear tree that's really producing right now.  So I thought a salad featuring these local pears would be awesome.  I found several different recipes online and pulled ideas from the all.  Here is what I came up with:

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 Tablespoons gold balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 Tablespoons agave
water

Put ingredients in a mason jar.  Shake well.  If dressing tastes oily, add more water.  If you want it more tart, add more vinegar.  If you want it more sweet, add more agave.  It's a very flexible dressing recipe and can be made a day ahead of time.

Salad:
12 ounce bag of baby spinach (you can also use a mix of baby spinach and baby kale)
1 thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pecans
3 firm, but ripe pears

Mix all ingredients in large salad bowl.  If making ahead, leave out pecans and pear until right before serving.  I prefer to serve this salad with dressing on the side so everything stays fresh and crisp.