Well, it’s finally up and after a few hours of debating over how to do it and trying to get passwords to work and all of that I’m off and running.  Now I’m sure the endless fiddling with the site and content will begin, as it already has.  The other thing that can begin is some actual discussion of food, and growing food, and farming.  For example, it’s December and I am completely excited about the outrageously beautiful, and delicious chicories that are growing on the “very small farm” right now.  This is a selection of them, two radicchios, a catalogna, a frisse, and an escarole.  There are a few more out there that aren’t in the photo, equally beautiful and really flavorful.  The cool weather has really mellowed any bitter and most of these aren’t bitter at all.  I’ve grown some chicories, and enjoyed them but last year’s trip to Italy was very inspiring, especially an escarole salad we had at a little agritourismo outside of Sienna.  So, this year I went a little crazy and decided that I wanted to experiment with a lot of varieties in the fields and preparations in the kitchen.  They are a little tricky to grow, but mostly just in the uneveness of maturity and size.  In the winter garden this might actually be a real advantage, since things aren’t really growing anyway.  It’s a real advantage if they can all be planted in the late summer and then mature over the course of about five or six months, starting in October or November when the summer lettuces are finished.  The downside is definitely low yields and lots of rot to dig through, but welcome to winter growing outside.