In mid-20th-century America, the simple evening meal — the "supper" — revolves around a single hearty dish (often a one-pot meal or seafood), accompanied by bread or crackers, followed by a homemade dessert made with seasonal fruit. On the New England coast where Rachel Carson loved to stay, the tide and the garden dictate the menu: clams, lobster, wild berries, and preserves put aside for winter. Meals are eaten without ceremony, near the window open to the ocean.

The briny flavor of freshly gathered seafood from the tidal flats — clams, lobster, mussels — enhanced with a little butter, milk, and crackers, is the signature of this coastal cuisine that Carson cherished. The brine (seawater and shellfish juices) serves as a natural seasoning.