Marinated Mixed Vegetables

Marinated vegetable salads are wonderful to have in the fridge because they will last for a week, or more. I love the ease of having a side dish already prepared and ready for use when something is needed quickly on a busy day. The time invested into making a few different dishes at one time can be a very big help if time gets away later in the week. The wine vinegar and garlic in this recipe give the vegetables an Italian flair but, if wine vinegar is too strong for you and your family, do use another more mild vinegar. This recipe was adapted from Lee Bailey's "Country Weekends" cookbook. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 very small head cauliflower, in florets (see note)
3 carrots, cut into rings
1 large green pepper, cut into strips and then halved into bite-sized pieces
1/2 pound green beans, tipped and tailed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large zucchini, cut into strips (see note)
2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley

Marinade:

3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup vegetable oil (see note)
1-3/4 cups wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
salt to taste
2 tsp. dry mustard
freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Put vegetables into a refrigerator container with a cover.
2. Whisk together the marinade ingredients and pour into the container with the vegetables. Stir and store in the refrigerator for at least 48 hours. Stir a few times over the two days.

Yield: 8 servings
Note: Because there are only two of us, I cut the recipe in-half, so I omit the cauliflower and zucchini.
Note: I use olive oil instead of vegetable oil, so the salad must be removed from the fridge at least an hour prior to use to bring the olive oil to room temperature. We really like the Italian taste.

Because of the marinade, I can not figure out the calorie count. I don't know how much marinade is consumed with the vegetables.