I love me a good pickled vegetable.

I love pickles and olives and sauerkraut and hot pepper relish.

And I love me some of my Grandma’s Giardiniera.

Giardiniera is typically used as a condiment on Italian sandwiches. But I prefer to eat it as a side dish.

Or on a sandwich.

Or as a snack.

Or for breakfast.

I just love the flavor of it, and I like the fact that it is an easy way to get a serving of vegetables into my day.

Know what else I love?

That it is stinking easy to make.

And truth be told, because it includes cauliflower… it is kind of stinky too.

Side note: I prefer cauliflower to be pronounced Call-i (short I sound)-flower. Lots o’ people call it Call-ee-flower. What is the deal with that?

If you call it Call-ee-flower, please explain to me why you do this. Thank you.

Anyhow, here are the veggies you will need to make your easy marinated vegetables:

One head of caul-i-flower, 2 carrots, 2-3 stalks of celery, one green bell pepper, 1/2 of an onion, and black and green olives.

Please note that I did not look into the jar of my green olives until I was about to add them to my dish.

That was when I realized they were moldy. How exactly does a pickled vegetable like olives get moldy? I thought pickling preserved these veggies.

So, I did not end up adding the moldy green olives. I suggest you do add green olives.

Unless of course, they don’t do it for ya (in which case, I think you are crazy).

Cut up your celery, and drop it in a Tupperware bowl that has an airtight lid.

Add in your peeled and chopped carrots.

Now, chop up your green pepper and add it in to the party.

Slice up your onion very thinly and add it in.

Please note I didn’t end up using the red onion pictured above.

That ended up being bad too… what the heck? I had just purchased it at the grocery that day. Wasn’t meant to be, I suppose.

Now your olives.

I like mine sliced in half.

You know, because I’m high maintenance like that.

And finally the cauliflower.

There ya have it.

There is only one thing missing.

The dressing, and it too is easy.

Gosh, I love ease!

Take 3/4 c. of oil (veg, canola, or olive would work) and mix it with 1/2 c. of white vinegar. Add in 5 T. of sugar, 1 t. oregeno, and 1 t. of salt.

Whisk it up.

And pour it in the mix.

Now, pop a lid on your container.

Shake it like a polaroid picture.

Put it in your fridge to let it marinate- at least overnight.

This is the kind of dish that gets better and better the longer it sits there.

Here is what the final product looks like.

I know plenty of people that could sit down and eat this entire bowl, myself included.

To be fair and balanced, however, Brad doesn’t groove on the Giardiniera. But he doesn’t really enjoy black olives or cauliflower, so that makes sense.

You can take this up a notch by adding in a hot pepper. That makes it a spicy Giardiniera that is especially delicious on a sandwich.

Or you can sub out some of the vegetables for others that you would enjoy more. I won’t be watching, so do what you like.

Have a good one my friends.

And thanks for stoppin’ by.

XO,

Leah