Giardiniera

     The Italian picked vegetable mix is a favorite of mine, but our corner grocer doesn't stock the brand I like best.  They've got a nice Chicago-style, which is pickled, the brine poured off, and smothered in good olive oil, wonderful stuff in a sandwich or (the hotter kind especially) added to lean-meat chili, and the carry a brine version that is a bit mushy.  My guess is the maker cans it up hot, ideal for preservation but not what I'm after.

     But even those have a particular flavor profile that appeals to me.  Still...  I was looking up the spelling of "giardiniera" a few days ago and happened across a refrigerator-pickle version that appeared to be well within my abilities: no worries about putting it up and having a jar explode or go worse.  A good strong brine, half white vinegar and half water, boiled with plenty of pickling salt, seasoned with coriander, mustard seed, peppercorns and oregano, and a little fresh garlic in every jar.

     So I made the stuff -- cauliflower, red onion (I'll get back to that), celery, three hues of bell peppers and purple, white and orange carrots.  You chop the vegetables quite coarsely, boil the brine, load up several canning jars with the mix, a bay leaf and a couple of chunks of garlic,* then fill them not quite all the way with the hot brine, let it cool to room temperature, put the lids on and refrigerate it.  After a couple of days, the result is spot on: the precise flavor and plenty of crunch.  They'll hold up okay in the fridge for several weeks; the salty brine's got an acidity of about 2.5%.  I used some in an omelet for brunch today, with bacon and Swiss cheese: the very thing for a cold morning!

I'm not enough of a photographer to get a really good picture of the stuff.  Yes, that's a bay leaf.

     The red onion means the brine goes pale lavender and the cauliflower turns pink.  If you'd rather it didn't, use a white onion, or even peeled pearl onions.
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* The recipe calls for three jars and two cloves of garlic.  The only way to do that is to cut them in thirds and put two in each jar.  As things worked out, I had extra vegetables and brine, so I made up one more jar without garlic.