have you read this? Post 36661 (https://www.thevespiary.org/talk/index.php?topic=12068.msg3666100#msg3666100)
(Antibody2: "pseudonitrosites via Toennies method", Novel Discourse)
much later after we finally got the asarone rxn to work (using good Et2O) i realized that that purple shit from the GAA rxn was polymerized asarone. Sad but true.
my advise to you is get some ether, it is easily available OTC as cold weather engine start (or whatever brand they sell near you) In truck garages they sell it in 1l canisters :) . but unfortunately asarone is the most difficult of all propenylbenzenes to run this rxn on so if from an OTC source your ether must be distilled 1st.
If you are hell bent on the GAA method, at least get it to work on isosafrole or anethole first, to work out the rxn details before attempting it again on such a acid-senstive precurser.
afterthought - oddly eneough Chromic reported a decent yeild of asarone glycol from a peracetic oxidation (didn't survive the hydrolysis step tho) so it is possible that it isn't asarone acid sensitivity causing the trouble here maybe it being in contact with NaNO2 as well is part of the problem, but i am speculating now