Cookies and Cream Affogato and a Giveaway!

Do you have a case of the Tuesdays? Well, cheer up because free coffee is back at McCafe from February 29 – March 6th! Celebrate by sending your loved ones a coffee gram to connect over a free McCafé coffee. I’m going to be sending my dad one because my dad absolutely loves coffee and free things.

From ever since I can remember, my dad has been a coffee drinker. When we were very little, my brother and I use to tag along with him to his union meetings (back when he was a pipefitter). He would drink cup after cup of coffee while chatting with friends and Kevin and I would amuse ourselves by stealing and crunching on sugar cubes. I don’t eat sugar cubes anymore, but my dad definitely is still a dedicated coffee drinker.

When we moved from Edmonton to Vancouver, my dad started up his own contracting business. He went from renovating people’s kitchens to building dream houses up in the hills. And, as any good contractor knows, coffee is essential to the job. He’d start his day by meeting up with his workers at McDonalds for a coffee. On the rare (okay, super often) occasion that I would have to go with him because there was no one to watch after me, I would have a hash brown and bury my nose in a book.

Coffee seemed like an adult kind of thing, but my dad would let me sneak sips of his super creamy, super sweet coffee. Of course, I feel in love with its warmth, earthiness, and ritual. My dad would always let me rip open those little packets of sugar and tiny tubs of creamer. I felt so grown up, helping him.

It’s so funny how we go from being children to adults. From living with our families for our entire lives only to forge our own paths, leave our homes, and then, suddenly realize how far we’ve gotten from where we used to be. I don’t spend nearly as much time with my dad as I want to. I miss those quiet mornings when it was just me and him, in an empty space, me stirring his coffee and him reading the paper.

So, it’s fitting that I’m going to ask him to head to a McCafe for a coffee. And this time, we’ll both have coffee. It’ll be fun to catch up, just me and him. Even now that he’s semi-retired, it seems hard to find time to talk. He’s busy with my mom and his friends and I’m busy with Mike and work, all of those pesky life things that get in the way. I’m looking forward to it!

I inherited both a love for coffee and free things from my dad. In fact, I even brought a coffee home because I couldn’t resist. I used it to make a cookies and cream affogato to share with Mike and I have to tell you, the cool ice cream, hot coffee and cookies were extremely addictive.

You too can get free coffee this week at McCafe Canada from February 29th-March 6th, 2016. Don’t forget to send a coffee gram for a coffee date – they’re super cute – and make sure to join the social conversation with #McCaféFreeCoffee.  Oh, and one last thing, I’m giving away free McCafé for a year. I hope you enter so your year will be filled with coffee dates!

To enter: Make a super cute coffee gram to send to your fave person. Share on twitter and tag your date, me(@iamafoodblog) and include #McCaféFreeCoffee! I’ll be choosing a winner next Tuesday. Open to Canadian Residents (excluding Quebec) only. Contest closes on March 6th, 2016. Good Luck!