Syrian Pickles

Ingredients

• 1 large beet, peeled and quartered (omit if pickling tomatoes)
• One of the following (if you want to mix cauliflower and turnips, use half the amount of each):
• 1 head cauliflower, broken by hand into florets
• 1/2 medium-size head green cabbage, cored and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 2 pounds turnips (about 4 large), peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, then sliced again into semicircles
• 7 medium-size very firm (almost unripe) yellow or green tomatoes, left whole
• 4 cups cold water
• 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 4 1/2 tablespoons coarse or kosher salt
• 4 large cloves garlic, cut into halves
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes