Miles’ waffles are out of this world

Along with his co-host, Soledad O’Brien (no relation), Miles O’Brien anchors CNN’s flagship morning show, “American Morning,” each weekday from 7 to 10 a.m. Eastern. He reports on a wide range of issues but his specialty is space and aviation. As an instrument-rated pilot with several hundred hours of flight time in a dozen types of aircraft, he presents viewers with a unique expertise on the subject. For more information, visit www.cnn.com.

“You must have to wake up pretty early for “American Morning.” What do you like to have for breakfast before the show?

I eat whatever’s free and available! I forage off of the tray in the green room, and I usually have a bagel with just a very light amount of cream cheese. And then I have a little bit of fruit and a glass of fresh orange juice, and that is an excellent way to start the day.

“As CNN’s space correspondent, have you ever gotten to sample the food that the astronauts eat while in space?

Yes I have! The one that always stumps people is the scrambled eggs. It’s in a vacuum-sealed baggie, and it looks like a Rice Krispies Treat. You just add hot water, and it actually is pretty good. All the astronauts love the shrimp cocktail with the spicy sauce. It’s a favorite because when you go to space, all of your fluids tend to rise and you get congested, and this affects your ability to taste somewhat. So they really enjoy spicy things because they can taste them better.

“Of your CNN counterparts, who has the strangest eating habit?

Bobbie Battista was addicted to Twizzlers on the air. Every day when I worked with her, she had a pack of them. Kyra Phillips goes on these strange diets all the time; for a while she was doing this cottage cheese thing, and it was grossing me out. And Soledad gets these bacon joneses going.

Miles’ Famous Waffles

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

6 tablespoons butter

Real maple syrup

Plug in a waffle iron, pre-heat and coat with non-stick spray. Pour flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add milk and mix until smooth. Separate egg whites and yolks, and add yolks to mixture.

Put whites in a separate smaller bowl. Beat egg whites until consistency of meringue. Melt butter and then add into main mixing bowl. Fold egg whites into main mixing bowl until smooth and even (chopped fruit can be added at this stage — bananas are my favorite).

Pour batter onto Belgian waffle iron and cook until golden brown. Heat maple syrup, and serve waffles with fresh fruit of your choice. Serves a family of four.