You could use a strong desiccant like magnesium sulfate to remove the water, I'm not sure if silica gel dissolves in organics... but if it doesn't, once removed from the solution you are trying to dehydrate, it can be placed in an oven, dried and reused. A little expensive, but might be worth the experiment, just to prove a point.
http://www.sigmaaldrich.com - Magnesium sulfate source
http://www.sigmaaldrich.com - Silica Gel source