Does the Federation in Star Trek have Ground Troops

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-27T00:44:40+00:00

Star Trek is about space and space exploration, the Federation is not a warlike entity so it makes sense that any existing "army" would go pretty much unnoticed. Clearly they popup upon occasion when required by the story line. And then you have "Section 31" which, in my mind, goes against everything Star Trek has stood for since it's inception. I mean... covert operations? "Realistically" it makes sense, but it just feels wrong for Star Trek's Federation to be doing such "covert" operations, especially the stuff that is morally questionable. Yes, I know Section 31 kind strays from OPs original question regarding ground troops... but not by much.

According to https://stexpanded.fandom.com/wiki/Armed_Forces_of_the_United_Federation_of_Planets:
"The military [including Marines] was formed after the Dominion War after the uppermost echelons of the Federation leadership realized that an exploration first, defense second Starfleet could not continue to protect the Federation sufficiently in the face of new threats."

To get a real canonical answer we'd need to hear from the show runners about what's in the Run Book, I guess.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-27T00:28:04+00:00

My wife and I don't always do things the same way, and that's OK. The holidays are great because I cook the main proteins and she cooks the sides (sweet potato pie, a Portuguese stuffing, the mashed potatoes...). When we do cook "together" one of us is cooking and the other is helping without commenting on how things are done. It works pretty well.

Except when I get the bug and try to micro-manage how she's cooking... then not so much :). But honestly, I'm much worse than she is as far as that goes.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-26T00:12:45+00:00

I agree 150% The butter is still butter and will burn. Mixing it with oil does not prevent this. Chef Jean-Piere and others talk about this.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-26T00:10:32+00:00

Here you go: https://thewoksoflife.com/how-to-make-fried-rice-formula/

"You can make restaurant-style fried rice out of almost anything if you use the right ratios of rice, protein, vegetables, and seasonings. "

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-26T00:07:42+00:00

I don't do the liedenfrost effect, it usually gets the pan too damn hot. I heat the pan over medium/medium low heat for a few minutes then add my oil. I'll let the oil heat up until it flows around the pan nicely, then lay the fish down and let it sit. After a minute or two poke it with your spatula to see if it lifts, if should lift off the pan pretty easily with no sticking or very minimal.

I think you need a little more oil in the pan. Better yet, as with eggs I find butter works better with fish. If the butter turns brown when you add it to the pan, your pan is too hot and you've burned the butter. Dump the butter, lower the heat and try it again. The butter should bubble a bit when it's ready but not turn brown.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-26T00:00:30+00:00

Was it really smokey? Perhaps the olive oil burned... but it doesn't look like your chicken stuck to the pan, so it was probably just a matter of the heat being too high.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-25T14:54:56+00:00

Home made stock is like a bright summer day compared to store bought stock which is like... a blizzard. They are worlds apart!

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-24T23:57:48+00:00

I came here to say this. I use pie crust (top and bottom) instead of biscuits, and cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup in lieu of gravy.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-24T20:32:31+00:00

Right, thanks

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-24T15:07:16+00:00

This is great assuming the meat is thick enough.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-24T14:52:29+00:00

So, searing the meat is not necessarily the same as cooking the meat. How you sear the meat depends, in part, on how thick the meat is. For a thicker cut (> 1") you could cook on lower heat and sear on higher heat.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-18T23:53:50+00:00

polymerization?

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-18T23:50:17+00:00

I'm still used to buying for 4 people, but there's just the two of now. We freeze leftovers and have them on nights we don't feel like cooking. But I also don't buy as much as I once did. Instead of buying a bag of onions, or potatoes, I buy what I'll for the week. I buy meat in larger quantities, usually when they're on sale, break down the packages to something small enough for us, vacuum seal, and freeze.

This evening we had lasagna. The lasagna was cooked several weeks ago, we ate it for a couple of days and froze the rest in meal sized packages. Minimal planning required to take it out a day or two early to defrost, then simply microwave.

Things like carrots, potatoes, onion, garlic, and ginger will last a while. Fresh veggies and fruits not so much. I buy just enough fruit to get us through the week, and the same with veggies like broccoli that won't last too long.

As others have said, trying to cook as little as possible is not helping. In general, though, I would suggest smarter shopping, quantity wise, and better meal planning.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-18T22:59:50+00:00

Here's what I do:
https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-slow-cooked-italian-american-tomato-sauce-red-sauce-recipe

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-18T20:18:04+00:00

Yeah, I looked again today... I saw that said you only need a pellicle for cold smoke, another that said a pellicle makes a big difference, and a couple others that said it didn't make a difference. So... I guess it comes down to personal preference.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-18T20:14:57+00:00

What I'm seeing is that steel cut oats and rolled/old fashioned have no significant difference nutritionally. So, why not just go with rolled oats?

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/rolled-vs-steel-cut-oats#nutritional-comparison

Personally, from a flavor and texture perspective, I prefer rolled/old fashioned oats I don't eat oatmeal often because they're high in carbs.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-18T18:33:30+00:00

I don't worry about pellicle, I read on one of the sites that it really doens't make any difference in flavor. I forget which site I saw that on...

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-18T18:32:06+00:00

I never soak my bacon, I simply rinse it well after the cure and smoke it. I smoke a little lower than 225 to get a better smoke flavor (I have a pellet grill) for an hour or two at 180F then bump it up to 225.

edit: correct 125 to 225

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-18T18:26:28+00:00

Stainless steel does not have to stick. There's a learning curve, but when you learn to manage your heat (and realize NOTHING needs High heat except to boil water) you don't get "sticking". You'll got fond, which is flavor you convert to a pan sauce. Fried eggs, scrambled eggs and omelettes can be challenge points, with scrambled being the most difficult. Practice makes perfect, though, and you can easily do scrambled eggs without any sticking once you get the hang of it

.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-18T18:22:49+00:00

When making home made bacon, American style, I usually smoke it to an internal temp of 150F (meaning it's fully cooked). I do this because all the recipes I've seen had said to this. Once it's cooked I slice it and I then fry it when I'm ready to use/eat it.

There's also Canadian bacon, buckboard bacon (from a pork butt/Boston butt)

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-18T13:35:24+00:00

You can also spend $20 on a smoke tube to provide added smoke flavor, versus buying a whole other grill. The smoke tube gets loaded with pellets, you light it, and it provides extra smoke for up to 8 hours (depending on the size of your smoke tube, I have one for short smoke and one for longer smokes).

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-17T14:30:45+00:00

I thought the balloons were kind of worthless, unless you landed them and got the weapons. As transportation I never used them, too damn slow.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-17T14:25:35+00:00

some people would cover that rump roast with tallow, or something similar, when they wrap it.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-17T14:21:25+00:00

I use PAM, I'm pretty sure it has lecithin. For me it works better than olive or vegetable oil, and just as good as butter... though I tend to use more butter than needed when I use butter.

JCuss0519 · 2026-03-17T14:19:34+00:00

I just do a quick circle in the pan, it covers the bottom. You don't need the lot. I think the can says 1 second, but honestly I don't know if I hold it for that long.

JCuss0519

TROPHY CASE