  We consider the difficulties of finite density QCD from the canonical
formalism. We present results for small baryon numbers, where the sign problem
can be controlled, in particular by supplementing the mu=0 sampling with
imaginary mu ensembles. We initiate the thermodynamic study of few-nucleon
systems, starting with the measurement of the free energy of a few baryons in
the confined and deconfined phase. We present a simple model for the phase
transition, whose results are in good agreement with the literature, but extend
to lower temperatures.
