Italian Dressing Mix

An herb blend for making your own Italian dressing.

1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
1 T sugar
2 T oregano
~1 t ground black pepper
1/4 t thyme
1 t basil
2 T salt

Mix these ingredients together, then to make the vinaigrette combine 2 T of the herb mix with 2/3 C of oil, 1/4 C of vinegar and 2 T of water.  As a base I use olive oil and white vinegar, but you can mix it up; as a suggestion I'd try walnut oil and sherry vinegar.  If you use a lower acidity vinegar substitute out some or all of the 2 T of water for additional vinegar.  If you want to stabilize the dressing add ~1/2 t of xanthan gum (1/2 t isn't quite enough, 3/4 t is too much).