Camping cup lid

One of the things I'm planning on doing quite a bit of to save money is to cook my own food. I looked at quite a few different camping cook sets from various places. I knew that I did not want non-anodized aluminum because, even though it is cheap and light, it is a very reactive material as I found out once when I used some aluminum foil to cover a casserole and the crust got discolored wherever it was touching the foil... I've been a little wary of aluminum touching my food ever since.

I ended up getting the GSI Glacier Bottle Cup from a sporting goods store for about $10. It's made of stainless steel, has a nifty fold away handle, but didn't come with a lid. Fortunately, I found this video on YouTube showing me how to make one:

I raided my pantry and found a can of pumpkin. But I didn't have a side opening can opener. After doing a tiny big of research on side opening can openers, I discovered that I wanted a smooth edge type and not one of those one touch jobs because they actually cut the can and leave sharp edges that you can cut yourself on. I asked around amongst my friends to see if anyone had a side opening can opener hiding in their possessions somewhere, but only one friend had the dangerous electric one. 

So I went to Ross and found one for $10. I really didn't want to buy a can opener to use only once for this project, but I really wanted a lid, and I rationalized that I can use it to help me make an alcohol stove a little later on. And there's always Ebay...

The top of the can was a little bit dented, and my lid doesn't fit on like the one in the video, but it does fit well enough in my opinion. I actually bought a can of chicken that was the same diameter for a second attempt, and it is much "prettier," but it still doesn't fit perfectly. Oh well. Now I just need to get a screw to put in the top for a little handle. And yes, I am aware of the fact that aluminum cans are made of aluminum. I can't win everything... It should be food grade at least since food was stored in it. That should count for something, right? 

Now to go make some pumpkin bread =)