Giardiniera - Italian Pickled Vegetables

More cauliflower this week, and a large head at that...   I decided to try preserving it rather than working it into several days worth of meals.  After a bit of research, I stumbled upon Giardinera.  My recipe is a hybrid of these two: Italian Pickled Vegetables and Hot Italian Giardiniera.

Giardinera
Makes 5 pints

10 cups vegetables, diced

2t red pepper flakes

2t Italian herbs

1.25t black peppercorns per pint jar

5T extra virgin olive oil per pint jar

2 cups white wine vinegar, plus extra to top jars

2 cups water

5 - 1 pint canning jars, plus lids and bands

Brine the vegetables overnight, drain.  Combine the red pepper flakes, Italian herbs, white wine vinegar, and water in a sauce pan; bring to a boil.  Fill the canning jars with the diced vegetables leaving 1/2" headroom; add 1/2t black peppercorns and 1T olive oil to each jar.  Top with vinegar mixture, leaving 1/2" headroom.  Follow the process for canning high acid foods.

I used purple cauliflower, red bell peppers, orange carrots and red Tropea onions.  While the color of the vegetables bled together, the flavor was excellent.