By the thought of cooking

As I don't need to go to work in the early morning and come back in the at midnight nowadays, I have enough time to cook for myself.  I stewed pumpkin with Tofu for lunch today,and it tasted pretty good. Since these days I've tried to do a lot of dishes, many of which are very delicious, these days, I began have begun to believe that I can also cook well. Just like the author of The Road Less Traveled found that he had the ability to repair utensils occasionally at 37, I grow (either "grew" or "have grown") convinced that I can also cook well if I put my mind on it, that something I've never believed before. (In more formal writing, I would say "... mind on it; this is something I've...", but what I corrected above works too.)
When I was every young,my mother told us that she could do none of the housework well, especially cooking, because her mother,my grandmother, couldn't manage household affairs as well, and none of the women in my family have the gift of housekeeping. As she kept telling that,all the family members accepted this fact and were tolerant when she forgot salt or added too much vinegar in the dishes sometimes. Since I seemed awkward comparing myself with my peers when I was trying to cook after growing up, I became more sure about my lacking of this kind of ability. (that sentence is perfectly correct; however, it would be better to say "I became more sure that I lacked this ability.")
However, after being interested in cate (what is "cate"?), I read cooking books and practiced more.I found that cooking is something I can manage and enjoy. So I realize that your ability in doing something mainly depends on how often do you practice it and how much you like it.