Giardiniera-Italian Relish fresh from the Garden

The City of Chicago is home to this snappy Italian Relish made by 'pickling' garden vegetables. You can enjoy it as a condiment on sandwiches, or as a sidedish, cold and tart from the fridge.  Grandpa Marshall was so proud that he was born in Chicago, maybe that's why he ate giardiniera every day. (This version contains way less salt than the traditional version.)
Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower
1 pound of carrots, preferably organic
4-5 stalks of celery
1 green or red pepper
2 Hungarian (or banana) peppers
6 sprigs of fresh oregano
6 sprigs of fresh parsley
whole black peppercorns
dried dill and/or basil
if you want a hot and zesty version:
peeled garlic cloves
serrano peppers or crushed red pepper
green olives
For the vinaigrette to fill the bottles:
1 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
4 cups Canola Oil
1 Tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Dice all of the veggies to a uniform size, except the cauliflower. Prepare the cauliflower by removing the thick stems and leaving 2 inch 'trees'.
Bring a pot of salted water to a heavy boil.  Submerge the cauliflower trees for several minutes, but not so long that they lose their crunchy texture. Remove and drain. Separate the cauliflower into small florets. While they're still warm, sprinkle with one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Repeat this process with the carrots. Now mix the cauliflower, carrots, celery, green (or red) peppers and hungarian peppers altogether in a big bowl. Sprinkle the mixed veggies with dill and/or basil.
Prepare the jars:
Distribute the herbs, peppercorns, and for a spicy batch, garlic, green olives and serranos into 6 half pint, immaculately clean mason jars. Make the vinaigrette.
Spoon veggies into the jars. leaving 1/2 inch headspace (room at the top) Fill jars with the vinaigrette, place seals, and screw caps on tightly.
Refrigerate for two weeks and then enjoy.