This column was going to be about asparagus.

But isn’t that the beauty of the open-air market? We arrive with shopping lists and preconceived notions, and what do we encounter? Lynne Rossetto Kasper.

I don’t mean it metaphorically. I wasn’t just thinking about this voice of the NPR weekly show for those of us who love to eat. I mean that when I arrived at the market, Lynne Rossetto Kasper and her producer, Sally Swift, were there.

They were selling and signing copies of their new book, How to Eat Supper. A gaggle of giddy marketgoers were clustered around her table, several of them in line to purchase a book. I got in the line, handed my credit card to the staffer from Politics & Prose, and was handed back the weighty tome, the remains of a bowl of turmeric-spiced potatoes gracing its shiny cover.

Kasper signed the book and posed for a picture with me, all the while speaking in that warm, full-throated voice I hear weekly on the radio. Meeting a radio personality is always a bit surreal when you realize that the disembodied voice you recognize and love has a body.

Then, armed with a new cookbook, it was time to get down to the business of shopping. I made a beeline for the asparagus.

When you are trapped in the neverending winter cycle of kale/squash/potato, asparagus is what you dream about. It’s the harbinger of spring produce. And then when it arrives, well, you find yourself buying $20 of it at time. I can’t get enough of it, roasted or blanched, with eggs or in soup, and I’ve been eating it like candy every day for the last two weeks.

Arriving back at home, I brewed a pot of strong coffee, spread some almond butter on toast, and sat down to leaf through How to Eat Supper. The book is based on the same idea as The Splendid Table’s “Weeknight Kitchen” weekly newsletter. Above all, it is meant to appeal to those of us who are bit strapped for time putting dinner on the table during the week.

While the co-authors admit, in the introduction, to finding great joy in complicated recipes with multi-day prep times, they acknowledge that great food can be had even in 15 minutes — and they provide enough recipes to prove their point.

What separates this from any of Rachel Ray’s books, or any other book telling you that you, too, can have healthy food fast? Well, for one, the emphasis of this book is on technique and improvisation even more than time-saving techniques. A core recipe is presented, and then three or four suggestions follow on how to take the same techniques and change out the ingredients to achieve a greater variety of dishes.

The book also focuses on simple dishes with strong flavors from around the world. No foods are made to look like what they’re not, or dressed up with six or seven flavors from six or seven continents. Instead, for example, shrimp comes out looking like shrimp, treated with a fast sauté of ginger and sugar to create an Asian-influenced dish that cooks in under 10 minutes.

Mostly, the book treats cooking as a joy. Kasper and Swift love cooking, and they know their audience does, too. The enthusiasm flows from its pages, from the playful font sizes to the glossy color pictures to the humorous quotes about cooking and food sprinkled throughout.

How to eat supper? With joy, simplicity and bold tastes. It is a message I try to live by.

The recipe below, inspired by How to Eat Supper, exemplifies this message. Fresh asparagus and scallions, only a few hours out of the ground, are quickly roasted until the sugars caramelize and the vegetables char just a touch. Tossed with a simple vinaigrette and served hot, this salad took fewer than 10 minutes to prepare.

The flavors and textures of the onions and asparagus blend and sweeten, the dressing provides a cut of acid and the jumble of greens on the platter are the essence of spring itself. Enjoy!

Warm Asparagus and Scallion Salad

Adapted from The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper

Total time: 10 minutes. Serves 2.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of fresh asparagus
• 1 ½ bunches of scallions (about 10 scallions)
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• Sprinkle of Kosher salt

For the dressing

• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small shallot, minced
• ½ tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 tsp. coarse or spicy mustard

Adjust the top rack of the oven until it is about five or six inches from the broiler. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Prepare the asparagus by snapping off the tough ends of the stem - just apply gentle pressure to the end of the stalk and wherever it snaps is where the toughness ends and the tenderness begins.

Prepare the scallions by cutting off the tip at the root end and about a half an inch from the green tops. Arrange the vegetables on a cookie sheet lined with tin foil so that they form a single layer. Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Place them in the hot oven and let them cook for 6 to 8 minutes.

In the meantime, combine the ingredients for the dressing and whisk together. The mustard will act as an emulsifier so that the oil and vinegar don’t separate. Set aside.

After 6 or 8 minutes, turn on the broiler and let the vegetables finish under the broiler for one or two minutes. You should hear the vegetables sizzle and they will char slightly, but do not let them burn.

Transfer the hot vegetables to a serving plate. Pour the dressing over them, and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

This also makes excellent leftovers the next day cold with salad greens.