I'm in fig country, happily ensconced just outside Nimes, France, with friends whose lavish country property includes 15 fig trees bearing nine different varieties of the fruit. This same time last year I spent several dreamy days here, gathering basket after basket of sun-warmed figs (trying hard not to eat everything I picked), which I transformed into 40 jars of spectacular jam. I made several different recipes but the standout was a balanced confection incorporating raspberries, vanilla beans, lavender and Pernod, as well as a plethora of figs. Now, 12 months later, only a scant jar of this "house jam" remains. My...