This is my vegetarian version of the famous Wick Fowler’s chili, which can be made from the original recipe (which calls for the boxed mix), from the many copycat recipes online (like this or this, or this or this) or from the current instructions appearing on the boxed mix. I’ve tweaked the recipe to suit my tastes and to make it work with beans or soy crumbles. You could also use real ground beef (use 2 lbs.), but you will need to take extra time to brown the ground beef and drain off excess fat.
Wick Fowler, in case you are curious, was a journalist, war correspondent and chili aficionado. He started selling his chili mix in 1964, a few years before helping to start an annual chili cook-off in Texas which ended up eventually morphing into two cook-offs (the convoluted history of the Terlingua chili cook-offs, both the original Terlingua Championship and that of the Chili Appreciation Society International can be found here).
Real chili aficionados would be appalled by the idea of a vegetarian chili, especially one seasoned as mildly as mine. All the same, my family and friends love this recipe.