I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU

As someone who is known to ask a lot of questions since I was a tiny little girl, I’m all ears to yours. Drop me a note with your feedback, suggestions or inquisitive herbal ponderings.

CONTACT INFO

I’m one of those rare people
who answer rather instantly.
Try me!

NISSA PIERSON

Healdsburg, California

Nissa@Herbal-Roots.com

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If you received my Cinnamon Basil Vanilla Pie Spice from the Fall Collection - use it in a Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake.

#Recipe link in story

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WHISKEY CARAMEL UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
Makes 1 9-inch cake

A few years back, while writing a whiskey article and recipes for Edible Marin & Wine Country, @sonomawhiskey
Sonoma Distilling Company gifted me with a bottle of Black Truffle Whiskey which I was immediately enamored with and turned into a caramel sauce which I used for this cake

I incorporate rosemary and warming spices into the cake and keep it more on the savory side since caramel is so sweet, I thought it the perfect combination, especially when dolloped with tangy vanilla spice yogurt.

This is equally delicious with pears.

Ingredients

For the apples and sauce:
6 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons finely chopped sage leaves
1 teaspoon maldon salt
¾ cup raw sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup Sonoma Distilling Company Truffle Whiskey or whiskey of choice
2-3 apples, cored and sliced thin

For the cake:
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sprouted grain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon ground long pepper (optional)
¼ teaspoon ground cardamon or grains of paradise
1 ½ teaspoon finely chopped rosemary needles
2 teaspoons of orange zest
¾ cup softened butter (salted)
¾ cup raw sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup Greek yogurt, plus 1 cup

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment.

Melt the butter, crisp the sage for a few seconds, then add the salt and sugars. Cook a couple minutes until the sugar starts to melt and looks gritty. Add the whiskey and cook one more minute.

Spread the hot caramel over the parchment-lined pan. Arrange the apple slices on top in circles, starting outside and working inward.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, spices, rosemary, zest, and salt in a large bowl.

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and yogurt and beat smooth. Add the dry ingredients gradually, beating between additions until the batter is smooth.

Spoon the batter evenly over the apples and smooth the top.

Bake about 45 minutes, until a knife tip comes out clean.

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Making a sheet pan version of one of my favorite fall recipes that I developed for a story a few years ago for @ediblemarinwc
A Window Into Fall-
FALL IN LOVE WITH APPLES’ SAVORY SIDE

First photo by @nat.cody

( link in story)
Using my Cinnamon Basil Vanilla Pie Spice)

Roasted Apple and Squash Soup

The Red Kuri is my favorite squash varietal and is often passed by for the easier to peel Butternut or the sensationally sweet Delicata. The Red Kuri is nutty and sweet and it’s predominant flavor reminiscent of roasted chestnuts. When its roasted with apples and onions and some subtle spices, a rich, complex earthy flavor is born and once blended a decadent velvety texture emerges and tantalizes the tongue with a soft and warm airy quality. This soup is remarkably easy to make and clean up abd best of all the leftovers get turned into Velvety Apple & Squash Mac & Cheese.

1 2-pound Red Kuri squash
1 yellow onion, chopped large
1 shallot, peeled and quartered
3 tart apples, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons melted butter
¼ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
¾ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground mace
½ teaspoon cayenne powder
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups water
¼ cup heavy whipping cream (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the squash in half using a larger and thicker bladed chef’s knife or a large cleaver by carefully pushing down on both ends of the blade slowly. Once the squash is cut in half, scoop out the seeds and set aside if you are making the spiced seed garnish. Place the cut side down on each half and cut it into 12 wedges, then carve off the peel of each wedge. Cut the peeled squash into roughly 2-inch pieces. Place the squash, onions, shallot and apples in a large glass baking dish (11” x 17” ideal) and toss together with the oil, melted butter, maple syrup, thyme and spices. Make sure everything is well combined and coated in the oil/butter mixture. Place the baking dish in the oven and roast for about 40 minutes, or until a slight char appears on the onions and shallots. Mix the vegetables once during the roasting process.

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While the east coast has its first snow, I’m still plucking basil from the garden here in California.

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Fall 2025 Collection Thanksgiving Sale
10% off with discount code Fall Meander

With the collection purchase you get a choice of one of the fall herbal brines, plus the six collection sliders and the bonus peppercorns!

These are beautiful additions to your Thanksgiving excursions, make amazing gifts and are just generally joy (herb) filled.

www.Shop.Herbal-Roots.com

All Thanksgiving orders this this week to arrive by early next week in time for planning and inspiration.

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My Cinnamon Basil Pie Spice in action

Persimmon braised short ribs with butternut squash over mashed potatoes.

I used some beer that @rachel._pierson left in my fridge a long time ago. Lots of fresh herbs as well as shallots and garlic and Hachiya persimmons.

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Fall 2025
Meandering through Fall’s Functional Disorientation Collection

Ambiguous | Collapsing | Wilted | Earthy | Mature | Explorative | Drifting | Perambulating

Green Bean Verbena
Green Vegetable Salt

Fresh Herbs: Lemon Verbena, Lemon Grass, Lemon Thyme, Lemon Leaf, Parsley, Chives, Spearmint, Carrot Flowers, Calendula Petals, Wild Arugula, Pineapple Sage Leaves & Flowers, White Rose Petals, Tulsi Produce: Romano Beans, Swiss Chard Stems Spices: Purple Striped Garlic, Toasted Onion Flakes, Purple Peppercorn, Calabrian Chili Flakes Citrus Zest: Grapefruit, Yuzu & Lemon Zest Other: Maldon Salt

Mature, ambiguous lemon —drifting from one version to the next—lemon verbena, lemongrass, lemon leaf, lemon thyme—all exploring the earthy, warmer and deeper side of citrus-forward plants. Instead of evoking the sharp glare of their summer essence, this fall concoction feels more honeyed. The lemony miscellany moves slower, like sunshine filtered through vegetal amber glass—grassy, earthy, on the vine too long garden green beans, Swiss chard, and toasted onion. Parsley, chives, wild arugula, and spearmint pump it alive with energy, carrying the memory of sunlight but subtle enough to forgo its blaze. Grapefruit and yuzu zests anchor it in the quiet brightness of dormancy to come. Tiny tints of fall florals recall life before breakdown, while Tulsi flowers and white rose petals root us in the purity of transformation. Use this one not
to cut through fall fats, but to flavor them brighter. Pork belly, pork chops, BLTs, and all your fall vegetable staples—green bean casserole, Swiss chard lasagna and sautéed wild mushrooms and pancetta for the big reveal.

Collection goes up for sale on the site Nov 6th - www. Shop. Herbal-Roots.com

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Fall 2025
Meandering through Fall’s Functional Disorientation Collection
@myherbalroots

Ambiguous | Collapsing | Wilted | Earthy | Mature | Explorative | Drifting | Perambulating

A staple in my fall collection, the brine I use on my bird (or porchetta) and if you have doubts an herbal (dry) salt brine is the bomb.

Chipotle Cranberry-Mezcal
Herbal Salt Brine

Fresh Herbs: Purple Sage, Green Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Winter Savory, Bay Leaves, Myrtle, White Sage, Wormwood, Licorice, Mexican Oregano Spices: Desert Hibiscus, Cinnamon, Wild Mesquite, Dried Mora Chipotle, Mace, Purple Tulsi, Smoked Paprika, Black Lime, Raki Seeds, Pemba Cloves, Black Pepper, White Pepper Citrus Zest: Lime Other: House Made Mezcal Cranberry Sauce, Smoked Alder Salt, Maldon Salt

Myhouse-made ‘Vida Mezcal’ cranberry sauce with crispy butter-fried sage, infused into Maldon and smoked alder salts, enriched by a medley of classic fall herbs, returns as my favorite and “best brine seller.” Wild Mexican botanicals like hibiscus and mesquite are woven into hand-ground mora chipotle chilies, adding smoky heat and fruity balance. Sweet licorice lends softness, complimented by raki seeds, cinnamon, mace, and cloves further softening the piquant autumnal core. Earthy, citrusy, robust Mexican oregano is abundant, while classic fall herbs like sage, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves, firmly root this salt in American Thanksgiving
tradition. As a dry brine, this smoky, savory herbal magic sticks to the skin, infusing your bird with deliciously rustic Latin micro-flavors, extra crispy fiery spiced skin and the tastiest
herbaceously-salty, fat drippings divine for gravy and sauce. Its bold, smoky depth and chili-forward salty tang enhance fruit, pork, hearty mole sauces, and any bean dish. Nachos, steak, empanadas, and avocados also benefit. And this is most definitely your go-to salt for a cranberry Mezcal margarita.

Collection goes up for sale on the site Nov 6th - www. Shop. Herbal-Roots.com

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Brown rice, persimmon congee with lemon grass and Vietnamese coriander. Black garlic with persimmon herb roasted chicken and mushrooms.

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1) Fall Garden Salad (little gem, baby chard, spinach leaves, red dandelion, wild arugula, parsley, mint and fennel leaves)

2) How to Dress a Fall Garden Salad (gold beets, pomegranate arils, goat feta, red walnuts and a blood orange, Calabrian chili white balsamic vinaigrette- also my current house Fall Herb Salt

3) The House Fall Salt - maple roasted squash, loads of sage varieties, marjoram, rosemary, lavender thyme, French thyme and lots more herbs (see story).

New Fall collection available Nov 6th

Contact | My Herbal Roots